Supervisory Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The Supervisory Medical Support Assistant (SMSA) position is located in the Health Administration Service (HAS) of the Veterans Health Care Systems of the Ozarks, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Position is physically located at the Fort Smith VA Clinic in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

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Duties

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The primary duties of the Supervisory Medical Support Assistant (SMSA) may include but are not limited to:

• Serves as a resource in providing technical counsel to meet procedural, legal and administrative requirements relating to the care and treatment of patients.
• Coordinates the clinic preparation activities and integrates administrative functions with the primary care services.
• Responsible for budget management, ensuring correct certification of invoices and timely payment to vendors in fund controls.
• Performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information.
• Manages the administrative program for primary care services including the efficient, effective and economical assignment of staffing designed to provide adequate administrative support to the clinical staff during regular tours of duty.
• Assigns and evaluates the work of subordinate staff; resolving complex problems ensuring 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 selections; evaluating performance and taking disciplinary action when necessary.
• Extracts and analyzes data to provide reports in support of performance measures to senior management.
• Routinely communicates with physicians, case managers, and other allied health professional staff.
• Orients and assists new employees to the service in VA policies and procedures, VISTA, CPRS and all administrative activities of ambulatory healthcare and serves as a resource for administrative staff.
• Ensures full compliance with established contracts and monitors to timely alert supervisor of any needed adjustments or of noncompliance with JCAHO standards.
• Plans and/or coordinates a formal orientation and training and assures training programs for new employees are completed as required to achieve efficiency of operations on a daily and long-term basis.
• Monitors personnel assignments, work distribution and work performance to ensure adequate service is being provided and work is properly distributed to accomplish the workload.

Work Schedule : Monday - Friday, 7:00am - 3:30pm. Subject to change based on the needs of the facility.

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)

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 : Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 564-00114-F

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-Placement 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

Basic Requirements

• United States 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 and Education.
  
  
  • (1) Experience. No experience required
  • (2) Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Certification. None required.
• English Language Proficiency. Medical Support Assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Policy.

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: In addition to the Basic Requirements, your resume must demonstrate you possess the required experience necessary to possess the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) required for the grade level. Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit.

Supervisory Medical Support Assistant, GS-08

a) Experience . One year of experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level.

(b) Assignment. 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 non-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.

(c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

1) 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.

2) 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.

3) 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.

4) Ability to provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training in a patient support setting.

5) Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08.

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

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

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.