Medical Support Assistant

Summary

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

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Duties

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VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The Primary Care Advanced Medical Support Assistant (MSA) generally performs a variety of support duties working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model in this Primary Care setting. The incumbent collaborates with and facilitates the work of physicians, nurses, and other members of the medical facility who provide patient care. The Advanced MSA coordinates and provides diverse and varying degrees of support to unit staff and manages the processing of consults and action required reports to ensure that patients are seen in a timely manner and that workload is correctly entered. The work requires a practical knowledge of computerized data entry and information processing systems, advanced knowledge of the standard procedures, medical records, and medical terminology specific to the services provided.

The duties include but are not limited to:

• Functions as an independent clinic clerk and receptionist.
• Provides complete appointment management according to clinic guidelines, to include scheduling, cancelling, and re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; enters no-show information; ensures encounters that need Action Required are completed in order to obtain appropriate workload credit; verifies and updates demographics and insurance information, among other aspects of appointment management.
• Interacts in a collegial relationship with and provides support and assistive patient services to physicians, nurses, and other healthcare personnel in the Primary Care outpatient clinics by ensuring that the prescribed plan of care and activities associated with its implementation requiring clerical intervention are appropriately and judiciously completed.
• Receives and makes telephone calls for clinical staff and acts as a receptionist to patients, other professional and clinical staff, and the public.
• Composes correspondence pertaining to clerical and administrative functions of the clinical service.
• Maintains electronic records and files on all matters pertaining to the overall function of their specialty area.
• Prepares recurring reports pertaining to administrative and clinical functions. Checks accuracy of data being reported.
• Performs as Timekeeper.

Work Schedule : 8:00am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)

Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.

Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 .

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Telework : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 000000

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements :

• United States 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).
• Experience. No experience required.
• Education . High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Licensure/Certification/Registration. None
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations :

GS-3 Grade Level

Experience or Education. None beyond the basic Requirement.

GS-4 Grade Level

Experience or Education.

(a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.; OR

(b) Education. One year of education above high school.

AND

Demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) in addition to the experience or education above:

(a) Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.

(b) Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

(c) Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.

(d) Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e., computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.

GS-5 Grade Level

Experience or Education.

(a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.; OR

(b) Education. Two years of education above high school.

AND

Demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) in addition to the experience or education above:

(a) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.

(b) Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

(c) Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.

(d) Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.

(e) Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.

(f) Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.

Preferred Experience: None

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

Education

Documentation Requirements for Proof of High School Completion or higher

If using post-high school education to substitute for experience at the GS-05, you must submit a copy of your unofficial or official college transcript with your application. If selected, to meet the basic requirement of high school education or equivalent and prior to a firm job offer being extended, applicants must provide one of the following as verification of the education requirement if not covered under the grandfathering provision:

• Copy of high school diploma OR high school transcript (unofficial or official) OR GED Certificate OR homeschooling completion OR proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education OR college transcript (official)

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.