Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) provides medical support for inpatient settings, including ICU/Telemetry and Medical Surgical floors. The MSA's work impacts the administrative aspect of patient care, including access, scheduling/coordinating appointments, collecting and updating demographic and insurance information, patient processing, and customer service. The MSA is responsible for assuring that various aspects of staffing, training, compliance, reporting, and quality assurance are met.

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Duties

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The position requires the incumbent to physically report for work to the Des Moines, IA VAMC.

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Promotes patient centered care, perform receptionist duties, customer service and other duties assigned for the proper and timely treatment of patients.
• Supports patient safety standards through correct identification of all patients through use of two forms of identification.
• Assists patients, family members and multidisciplinary staff while maintaining unit flow. Providing direct customer and patient services that are prompt, friendly, and cooperative.
• Answers/receives and routes phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of requests and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established unit processes. A caring, compassionate and sensitive manner is essential when explaining procedures to Veterans and their family members both in person and on the phone.
• Assists in outside provider record retrieval, manage faxes, provider orders and mail in a timely manner.
• Provider orders are consistently processed within 1 hour of time received, STAT, NOW, or ASAP orders will be hand delivered to the charge nurse or the nurse on the neighborhood where the patient resides if the charge nurse is unavailable.
• Manages position responsibilities with guidance from more experience staff member to assist with setting priorities and deadlines adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.
• Inputs correct providers and treating specialty. Enters interward transfers, admits, and discharges to the unit. Keeping admission and discharge log updated.
• Maintains schedule for Interdisciplinary team meetings (IDT's), notifying team members per e-mail of schedule including notification of any changes.
• Ensures appointment sheet is maintained and posted daily.
• Prepares for admissions & discharges, completing admission packet prior to patient arrival and preparing discharge packets ensuring are completed and ready prior to discharge.
• Maintains and orders clerical supplies ensuring adequate supplies available being mindful of not being wasteful or overstocking of supplies. Maintains a clean and safe work area.
• Keeps his/her area secure and questions unrecognized persons in secured areas not displaying identification badge.

Work Schedule : 3:00 pm -12:00 am with alternating weekends and holidays

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases

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.
• 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

***KSA Recommendation - All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in your application may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA (found below) to demonstrate how you have gained each one in your application package or on a supplemental document

*** Creditable Experience: Knowledge of MSA Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the 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/non-paid employment as [an] MSA or [an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting].

Basic Requirements :

• 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. 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 DETERMINATION :

GS-3 MSA (Entry Level)

You must meet the Basic Requirements outlined above.

GS-4 MSA (Developmental Level)

1. Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

OR

2. Education. One year of education above high school. (Transcripts Required)

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to Basic Requirements and the experience listed above, candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.

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

GS-5 MSA (Full Performance Level)

1. Experience : One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

OR

2. Education . Two years of education above high school. (Transcripts Required)

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to Basic Requirements and the experience listed above, candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

1. 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.

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

3. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.

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

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

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

Preferred Experience: Prior MSA experience preferred.

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: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Education

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

The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationship sand healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

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.