Advanced Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The VA New Jersey Healthcare System is hiring 1 Temporary Advanced Medical Support Assistant (MSA) for the Specialty Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) located in the Medical Administration Service (MAS) for the East Orange facility . The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.

*Please NOTE: This position is Temporary and the schedule is intermittent not-to-exceed 2 years

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

• The Advance MSA participates in the daily team meetings where the group reviews individual patient requirements and formulates a plan for delivering the optimal level of care in the appropriate setting. To this end, the incumbent supports the team by finding solutions within his/her scope of responsibility in order to resolve patient needs or expedite delivery of patient care. As a member of the team, the Advance MSA has a collective responsibility with other team members for the ongoing care of all patients served by the team. The incumbent will proactively engage with Veterans through multiple avenues to include MyHealtheVet (secure messaging), VetLink, VAOS, recall system or in person.
• Incumbent educates other members of the care team about scheduling protocol, including application of the Electronic Wait List (EWL), NEAR List and MISSION Act timeliness requirements. Incumbent provides information to and receives patients reporting for scheduled and unscheduled visits; processes and directs patients in an expedient and efficient manner. Incumbent is also required to administratively screen all Veterans to determine the nature of medical problems and provide administrative assistance as required.
• Duties require frequent data input and processing functions in VISTA/VS GUI for admissions, discharges, follow-up and/or referral appointment, means test, ICB capture and other administrative processes.
• The Advanced MSA coordinates with team members to review clinic utilization and ensures that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, making necessary adjustments as needed. S/he develops/maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
• S/he may be tasked with assisting with communications with staff inside and outside the facility; communicating with non-VA medical facilities; processing secure messaging requests from the patient to the team; notifying patients of normal lab results; developing and managing 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 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; monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work); managing electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings, performing administrative follow up actions; participating in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care; evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested; educating providers about share patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and bringing to the attention of the provider.
• AMSA will perform other duties as assigned.

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Medical Support Assistant: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdf

Work Schedule : This position is Temporary, Intermittent, Not-to-Exceed 2 years

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.

Insurance: May be eligible

Telework : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 21W72-A

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 : Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• 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 : Advanced Medical Support Assistant, GS-06 :

Experience . One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level.

Assignment. The Advanced Medical Support Assistant provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively within an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. The work requires specialized administrative judgment and flexible use of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and care-in-the-community resources. The incumbent recommends changes to clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines and demonstrates expertise in utilizing advanced patient systems to support multiple clinics. The Advanced MSA coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability and ensure schedules are effectively monitored and adjusted as necessary. The incumbent develops and maintains effective communication with patients, care team members, VA medical centers, and external agencies. Duties may include supporting inpatient-to-outpatient transitions, communicating with non-VA facilities, preparing patient correspondence such as normal lab notifications, and managing follow-up systems including consults and tests. Additional assignments at this level include processing patient secure messages through MyHealtheVet, participating in team huddles and meetings, setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting work flow to meet patient and team needs, identifying incomplete encounters, assisting the team in reinforcing the plan of care, entering information into the electronic record, monitoring pre-appointment requirements, validating and resolving issues in patient systems, evaluating patient information to determine the need for immediate appointments, and informing the team about shared patients who receive care at multiple VA facilities or in the community. Higher-level duties must comprise at least 25% of the incumbent's time and reflect significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and variety consistent with the GS-6 grade level.

And

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to support team goal-setting and ensure that patient care needs are met.
2. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines while ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
3. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively by phone, electronically, in person, and in writing with internal and external customers. This includes preparing reports, presenting data, and resolving patient concerns.
4. Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process, including scheduling across interdisciplinary care delivery models, care-in-the-community processes, and patient health care portals as they relate to access to care.
5. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with coordinated care delivery and care-in-the-community activities affecting patient flow and administrative functions, including appointment cycles, referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, and provider availability.
6. 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-06.

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

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

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.