Medical Support Assistant

Allied Health Professional

Duties for this position include, but are not limited to:

• The incumbent(s) receives telephone calls for the unit, records, and relays messages to appropriate staff. Provides general information regarding visiting hours, and medical center policies on visitors. Able to direct patients and visitors to resources requested and available for veterans care and an understanding of how resources relate to questions asked.
• On ward, the MSA must be able to respond to all emergent situations such as codes, procedures and orders which are urgent/stat in origin. The MSA must be able to perform without delay his/her role in each situation and able to follow established procedures when calling a code, function within the code and renewing resources after the code.
• Coordinates with the medical clinics to send inpatients for required tests, pre-operative procedures, therapies, and scheduled appointments based on the doctor's orders as an inpatient or discharge instructions.
• The incumbent receives, directs, transfers, and discharges patients; receives and directs visitors, answer routine, abrupt, and emergent inquiries and makes appropriate referral of questions concerning patient's condition.
• Coordinates with nursing staff to assign rooms for new admissions and transfers as well as review the day's movements for bed availability. Builds a medical chart for each new admission. Ensures that all required activities have been completed prior to discharging a patient, and that follow-up appointments have been accurately scheduled.
• Responds to technical questions regarding patient rights, responsibilities, and advance directives. In the Extended Care Units, signs for release of patient funds for purchase of services and secures coupons for services in a safe..
• Performs a variety of duties in support of data entry and collection for the unit. Ensures that patients who are admitted from the doctor's orders are entered in the CPRS/GUI computer system. Electronically transfers and discharges patients using the VistA and CPRS/GUI systems.
• Post patients' allergies and medical alerts on the chart and warnings and precautions and nurse/ team assignments into the Bed Management System (BMS). Prints and updates the electronic inpatient ward rosters, current inpatient list, and inpatient appointment list.
• Accurately maintains the Ward Gains and Losses log and disposes of the log at the end of the 24-hour day to remain in compliance of privacy directives and HIPPA laws. Post patient's appointments, therapy times, and required labs and procedures on boards which are maintained at the nurses' station but are also kept in a manner compliant with privacy directives.
• Electronically transcribes all doctors' orders and alerts staff for time critical medications, labs, x-rays, and EKG's. Manually transcribes doctors' handwritten or electronic orders onto the appropriate medication, pre-op, or treatment sheets for nursing staff.
• Verifies and corrects patient information in the computer systems concerning treating specialties, providers, and times of movements, and informs supervisor of discrepancies.
• Contacts each patient during the admission process to ensure each patient has all necessary information for Advance Directives.

Work Schedule: Sunday-Saturday: 7:30am-4:00pm; 3:30pm-12mdnight; 12midnight - 8:00am; rotating weekends and holidays. Subject to change based on the needs of the facility.

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized.

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

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 #: 586-00131-F; 586-00132-F; 586-00140-F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.