SUPERVISORY MEDICAL SUPPORT ASSISTANT

Summary

This position serves as a Supervisory Medical Support Assistant supporting the Medical, Diagnostic, and Therapeutic, and Behavioral Health VA Care Lines across the VA Finger Lakes. This position will be stationed at the Rochester Outpatient Clinic and is under the supervision of the Scheduling Section Chief.

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Duties

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Duties include but not limited to:

• The supervisory Medical Support Assistant is responsible for extracting and analyzing data in order to provide reports in support of performance measures to senior management. This position also coordinates with the specialty care, behavioral health, and ancillary support positions teams at the physical location they work at to review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary), ensure that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments.
• The incumbent develop/maintain effective and efficient communication with the patients, interdisciplinary team, VA Medical Centers, and other agencies relating to specialty care services., communicate with non-VA Medical Facilities, facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and specialty provider teams, develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.
• Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to; participating in specialty team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care, setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs, may work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record, managing unable to schedule list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues, participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issue or procedures within the specialty care offered throughout the VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System.
• The position is responsible for training directs reports on scheduling guidelines, directives, and processes. The incumbent will serve as the point of contact for specialty care MSA staff on all questions related to proper scheduling processes and will conduct scheduling competencies and audits required.
• The incumbent serves as the primary point of contact for consult processing working closely with the staff they supervise to ensure proper consult policy is followed regarding national timeline standards for contacting and acting upon consults. This position reports up through management in Health Administration Services as well as preparing weekly consult reports to be provided to the clinical operations office and then provided to the VISN.
• This position reports directly to Health Administration Services who is a direct report to the Associate Medical Center Director. Employees have full supervisory responsibility for supervising at least one subordinate team leader and a minimum of 9 to a maximum of 20 Medical Support Assistants.
• Work assignments come from the Scheduling Section Chief with a dotted line to work directly with clinical staff in scheduling related issues. The incumbent plans and organizes work with general assistance from the supervisor as to meet local and VA-wide time frames to complete analysis requirements, reports and special assignments and only refers to the non-routine and high technical problems to his/her supervisor.
• The incumbent is responsible for reporting backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty in securing information from clinicians or the record. Is also responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of information obtained to carry out required duties. Routinely communicates with physicians, case managers, and other allied health professional staff using sound interpersonal skills and is constantly aware of the sensitive information.

Performs other duties assigned.

Work Schedule : Monday - Friday (7:30am - 4pm)

Telework : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 21M04-A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

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/examination.
• 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

Basic Requirements :

• United States Citizenship : Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience . None.
• 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.
• Grandfathering Provision . 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).
• 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.
• 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).

Grade Determinations : In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified.

Supervisory Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-08

• Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-07). Qualifying experience includes but is not limited to: assigning and evaluating the work of subordinate MSA staff; resolving complex problems to ensure patient services are met; evaluating new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improved clinic operations; identifying educational or training needs; making final decisions on hiring selections; evaluating performance, and taking disciplinary action when necessary.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Advanced knowledge of managing or leading patient support staff in a clinic. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.
• Ability to provide the full range of administrative and supervisory duties to at least one subordinate MSA supervisor or team leader in a patient support setting which includes assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation of awards and/or advancements.
• Ability to collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate customer service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers to ensure quality/continuity of care and ensure compliance with established policies and regulations.
• Ability to provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training in a patient support setting.
• Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs.

Creditable Experience . To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid or non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.

Part-Time Experience . Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to a full-time workweek. For example, an individual employed 20 hours per week, or on a half-time basis, would receive credit for 1 full-time workweek for each 2 weeks of service

Quality of Experience . Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level of the position being filled. For all assignments above the full performance level (FPL), the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Assignment. For all supervisory assignments the Supervisory MSA must spend 25% or more of their time providing administrative and technical supervision and perform major duties above those at the FPL that consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, and variety. Supervisory MSAs at this level plan and direct programs at medical centers and/or satellite outpatient clinics. They have full responsibility for supervising at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting. Assignments at this level include but are not limited to evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving complex problems to ensure patient services are met; evaluating new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improved operations; identifying educational or training needs; making final decisions on hiring selections; evaluating performance and taking disciplinary action when necessary. The employee has administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the subordinate lead, supervisor, and MSA's activities. Responsible for extracting and analyzing data to provide reports to senior management in support of tracking measures.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please 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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