Medical Support Assistant

Medical Support Assistant

This incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) and performs clerical and administrative support in the coordination, care, and treatment provided to patients throughout the Specialty Care ICC to include Pulmonary, Cardiology, Hospice, Palliative, Kidney, Oncology, Rheumatology, Neurology, Infectious Disease, Endocrinology, Diabetic Ed, Front desk/Emergency Department and other specialty care areas. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.
• Prepares for clinic visits and receives and processes applicants for outpatient treatment.
• Generates letters and pre-procedure instructions to patients.
• Interprets outpatient policies to patients, their families, agency employees, and Veterans' organizations.
• Processes and schedules consultations.
• Responsible for ensuring no-show information is entered and followed up on correctly.
• Performs administrative functions in conjunction with patient telephone calls and callers from other ICCs for scheduling requests and assistance regarding primary and/or specialty care concerns utilizing established protocols.
• Makes wristbands for special procedures and admissions, ensuring the proper identification and accuracy.
• Serves as a telehealth facilitator as needed, which includes coordinating and scheduling telehealth appointments with the provider, patient, equipment, and specific location, entering telehealth appointments and mailing outpatient appointment letters, reserving telehealth equipment, and serving rooms at provider and patient locations.

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

Telework: Not Available

Functional Statement #: 000000

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements 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. You may be required to serve a trial period. 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).

Qualifications:

Basic Requirements:

United States Citizenship: Citizen of the United States.

Experience and Education. (1) Experience. Six months experience of clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position; OR, (2) Education. One year above high school (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED); OR, (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED).

Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

Grade Determinations:

Medical Support Assistant, GS-3 (Entry Level) Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.

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

• Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals in a courteous and helpful manner in order to give instructions and arrange appointments.
• Ability to utilize computer systems to enter administrative data in patient systems.
• Ability to learn and utilize basic medical terminology to record patient messages and physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-4 (Developmental Level) Experience. One year of experience in clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position; OR, Education. Two years of education above high school (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED).

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

• Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.
• Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software [(i.e. computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care].
• Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
• Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-5 (Full Performance) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the [GS-4] grade level; OR, Education. Four years of education above high school (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED).

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

• Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive [medical and patient identifying] information [(PII)] into or from electronic [health] records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties[performing patient support work.]
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally [in person, electronically, and/or by telephone], with internal and external customers.
• Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

Preferred Experience:

Excellent customer service, ability to communicate well verbally and in writing with Veterans, coworkers, lead and supervisor. Scheduling experience, ability to multitask and pick up efficiently where left off after multiple interruptions. Ability to prioritize duties and organize daily workload. Good sense of teamwork. Environment is fast paced always requiring the calm and efficient need to be prepared for the unforeseen and unexpected. Elements of flexibility, must be able to work interchangeably on different teams with diverse personalities. Being self-motivated and organized. Knowledge of clinic workflow is beneficial. Some medical terminology is helpful.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional Information:

Receiving Service Credit or 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