Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Basic Requirements: A Citizenship Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.) Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a) B Experience None C Education High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education D Licensure/Certification/Registration None E Grandfathering Provision Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: (1) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard (2) Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/ placements F Foreign Education To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials G Physical Requirements See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements H English Language Proficiency Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f) Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Advanced Medical Support Assistant, GS-6 Experience - One (1) full year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level This experience may include but is not limited to independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes The AMSA is responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults entering no-show information monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.) Note: This experience must be clearly demonstrated in your resume Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care administrative functions to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. Physical Requirements: The work of this position is primarily sedentary in an office setting, primarily while seated working closely with others or alone There may be some walking, standing, bending, kneeling, carrying of light items under 15 pounds, reaching above shoulder, driving an automobile, etc The work environment typically involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of a medical office and/or meeting or training room The Advanced MSA is required to sit for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while having face to face contact with Veterans and answering the telephone In addition, there can be increased stress due to the intensity of a patient/customer complaint or concern The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. ]]>