Lead Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The Puget Sound VA Medical Center is seeking one Lead Medical Support Assistant (LMSA) who will work within the Hospital Specialty Medicine Service (HSM) performing a variety of administrative duties and responsibilities. The purpose of this position is to serve as an LMSA with responsibility to provide centralized and varied administrative support services and office automation expertise for veterans and other health care personnel within HSM.

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

• Provide advanced clinical operational support and assigns workload to Advanced Medical Support Assistants.
• Works collaboratively as the point of contact for the patients and their families and the interdisciplinary HSM teams requesting appointments.
• Evaluates patient information and clinic schedule to check on availability, confirm appointments and/or reschedule appointments using the EHR.
• Track, ensure and verify encounters and Insurance Card Buffer (ICB) is completed.
• Assign workload of consult, return to clinic orders (RTC) for Advanced Medical Support Assistants.
• Ensure appropriate programs are used buy the Advanced Medical Support Assistants for scheduling and ensure correct comments are noted as well as correct clinic.
• Responds to requests for information such as status of reports, suspense dates for matters requiring compliance and similar information readily available from records.
• Primary support for assigned sections, ensuring clinic setup is closely monitored to effect support clinic needs and make all necessary clinic grid adjustments.
• Responsible for provisions of the following administrative support functions:
  • Records - maintenance of centralized files for administrative and internal clinic documents and records.
  • Establishment, maintenance, review and maintain archives of correspondence and current directive files for the clinic, including technical directives and patient privileged information.
  • Ensure all necessary and applicable documents are available, properly indexed, sorted and filed and, when necessary additional material is obtained.
  • Ensure Advanced Medical Support Assistant scans and uploads outside medical records or coordinates with Medical Records to upload records to EHR.
  • Communications - oversees the AMSA's that serve as receptionist for their assigned section, which includes greeting and screening patients to determine actions required.
  • General administrative support

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

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (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).

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.

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.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Education: 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)
  • 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.
  • 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).
• Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to meeting the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  • Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community.
  • Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.
  • Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting.
  • Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines.
  • Ability to provide staff development and training.
  • Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS 07.

Physical Requirements: There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019, updated on 4/17/2026.

Education

High School Completion or higher

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)

Additional information

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.