Medical Support Assistant

Medical Support Assistant

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) functions as serving as an initial point of contact for the units, clinics, patient. Duties included, but not limited to: scheduling patient appointments, tracking, reviewing, and responding to electronic orders and consults in the organizational medical systems. This position requires a practical knowledge of computerized data entry, information processing systems and software related to patient care.

Major duties include (but not limited to): Provide specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Recommend changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics. Coordinate with the patient care team to review clinic utilization. Responsible for scheduling appointments, scanning, handling veteran calls on direct and centralized call lines. Schedule Veterans' appointment. Request medical records from community healthcare facilities, schedules consultation appointments, special procedures, and/or testing labs, radiology, with community clinics to coordinate care. Work with the multiphone line system and have working knowledge of computer systems and phone etiquette. Main duties may include working in CC call center directing calls and scheduling Veterans. Knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. Adjust the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs. Assist the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions. Document appropriate information into the electronic record. Monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure. Manage patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues. Evaluate patient information and pending and active consults lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment. Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: 40 hours per week. Monday-Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm

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)

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. 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.

Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/16/2026. Medical Support Assistant Basic Requirements: Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. Experience and Education: Experience: No experience required. OR 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 required. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations: Knowledge of MSA Practices: To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Quality of Experience: Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level. Part-Time Experience: Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship for the full-time workweek.

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements, candidates must possess the required specialized experience and be able to demonstrate all Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) as summarized below.

GS-3 Grade Experience or Education (Entry Level): None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-4 Grade Experience (Developmental Level): 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: One year of education above high school.

AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): 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.

GS-5 Grade Experience (Full Performance Level): One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; OR, Education: Two years of education above high school.

AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): 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.

References: Former VA Handbook Reference: Part II Appendix G45; Effective Date: 8/1/2019; Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard; GS-3, 4, 5.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5 Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, however, there may be some walking, standing, bending and transporting items under 20 pounds. Works extensively in the hospital computer system. 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 IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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 The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: 1st Area of Consideration: Current permanent employees of the Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System to include the Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), and the NWI Veterans Canteen Service. 2nd Area of Consideration: All other VA Agency Employees.