Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Summary

The incumbent is assigned to Health Administration Service at the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care Systems at the following locations: Montgomery, Tuskegee, Dothan, Ft. Rucker, Monroeville, Columbus, Georgia, and Ft. Benning, Georgia. The Advanced Medical Support Assistants are responsible for the administrative support of the clinical services to include Primary Care, Mental Health, Women's Health and various Specialty Clinics located in the Community Based Outpatient Clinics.

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Duties

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Major duties include but not limited to;

• Interprets and applies Veterans Health Administration (VHA) scheduling policies, business rules, and directives.
• Collaborates and communicates with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to accomplish setting to ensure medical care to the patient is met.
• Schedule appointments in accordance with VHA Directive 1230 and VHA Directive 1232 (2); including canceling, re-scheduling, and no showing patient appointments and/or consults.
• Process Return to Clinic Orders (Query from ISS) upon check-out. If unable to complete at check-out, task must be completed within (3) days of entry.
• Process View Alerts for accurate disposition.
• Ensures appropriate patient actions are taken within ISS (scheduling, check-in, check-out, and
• no-shows).
• Extracts medical information from electronic records when requested by Providers, Social Workers, Nurses, and Supervisors while maintaining HIPPA standards.
• Ensures patient encounters are completed for clinics assigned by the end of each business day (no-shows and patient cancellations through AudioCare, VEText, etc.).
• Coordinates patient transportation and/or travel concerns with the Veterans Transportation Service and Bene-Travel Staff.
• Provides information on medical center policies and procedures.
• Notifies Supervisor when clinic access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes.
• Responsible for the tracking and management of consults for clinics assigned.
• Responsible for providing feedback to providers when additional information for scheduling is required.
• Ensures consults greater than 90 days have proper documentation for additional scheduling attempts or dispositioning as directed by VHA Directive .

Work Schedule : Monday - Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm, 7:30am - 4:00pm, 8:00am - 4:30pm or 8:30am - 5:00pm.Work schedule may vary based on the geographic location and based on the needs of the agency.

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.

Functional Statement # : 62141F

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 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

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.
• English Language Proficiency : Applicants appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• 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.

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).

GS-6 Grade Determinations : In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed in above, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified.

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

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

1. Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care.
2. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care administrative functions to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc.
3. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
4. Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g., medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
5. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
6. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers.

Preferred Experience: None

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

The full performance level of this position is a GS-6.

Physical Requirements: The work of the positions is primarily sedentary; however, some walking, standing, bending stooping and lifting up to 30 pounds

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.