Lead Medical Support Assistant

Lead Medical Support Assistant

The Lead MSA is responsible for daily workload assessments, assigning work, and assuring proper staffing coverage; evaluating training records; and determining training needs of MSAs to provide support across interdisciplinary settings. The Lead assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care, specialties, and community resources.

Major duties include; but are not limited to:

• Works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model and performs all related duties; customer service and other duties assigned for the proper and timely treatment of patients and assure appointment schedules are maintained by MSA staff for one or more outpatient clinics.
• Provides Lead Medical Administrative Support to one or more Outpatient Pact, Inpatient Wards and or Specialty Care Clinics and is an integral member of the clinic teams to effectively carry out day to day administrative operations of the clinics.
• Employee performs a variety of supervisory administrative functions associated with patient care and treatment in one of several clinics performing a variety of medical services.
• Assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources.
• Ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments; providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures; creating and maintaining employee work schedules; acting as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, patients, and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts.
• Assures front line contact with patients and staff by setting the tone for perception concerning quality of healthcare services at the VA.
• Performs a variety of supervisory administrative functions associated with patient care and treatment in one of several clinics performing a variety of medical services.
• Responsible for performing the duties related to the Beneficiary Travel Program which includes assuring travel requests are processed in a timely manner and that they are reviewed, and appropriate documentation completed before sending to Fiscal Service.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm or 7:30am - 4:00pm

Telework: Ad-hoc telework may be approved at the discretion of the supervisor.

Functional Statement #: 50239F

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:

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: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.

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

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:

Experience. In addition to the basic requirements above, applicants must have One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 (AMSA) grade level.

Examples of experience include, but are not limited to:

• Processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate.
• Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team.
• Setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.
• Identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers as needed.
• Assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions.
• Enters appropriate information into the electronic record.
• Monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure.
• Manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues.
• Evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment.
• Informs team members about shared patients (i.e., those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community).

GS-7 Lead MSA Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• 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 resources.
• 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.
• Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.
• 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.

Preferred Experience:

None

Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Medical Support Assistant" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

Note: Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to Advanced MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity/difficulty and a range of varieties.

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-07.

Physical Requirements:

Typically, the Lead Medical Support Assistant must be able to operate a computer terminal and be able to manage multiple activities at one time. The LEAD MSA monitors and makes work assignments, provides input on performance, resolves daily workplace issues and maintains efficient workflow. Work is generally sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items.

Work Environment:

The work may be stressful due to the accelerated pace for several hours at a time during peak clinic hours or on days that have a large volume of clinic activity.

Education:

There is no substitution of education for experience at this grade level.

Additional Information:

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in