Medical Support Assistant (ward Administration) - Nights

Medical Support Assistant

This position serves as a medical support assistant on the inpatient wards and is under the supervision of the Ward Administration Supervisor. Occupation involves technical work concerned with processing doctor's orders and maintenance of medical records as well as all patient movements throughout the patient's hospital stay to include discharge and/or transfer of patient to other facilities.

Duties of the position include, but are not limited to:

• Receives patients/family members/visitors in person or telephonically.
• Records and relays messages and/or redirects calls or performs scheduling changes as necessary.
• Obtain identifying information and determine the nature of the call.
• Refers patients to the Triage Nurse when appropriate.
• Schedules appointments and provides information regarding outpatient clinics.
• Enters and/or retrieves information and data from the Clinical Information System.
• Completes consult requests through the advice of the physician with the use of Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS).
• Type administrative notes using various automation systems and programs to accomplish work, such as text editing, maintain and retrieval use of messaging by using e-mail.
• Maintains and monitors patient appointment schedules for the facility and communicates delays in scheduled appointments to the appropriate staff and patients.
• Coordinates and/or schedules patient appointments with other clinics or specialties.
• Manages, schedules and monitor consult requests and various orders/requests for specialty and/or diagnostic services.
• Perform check-in and check-out of patients for their appointments; verify and edit each patient's demographics information; verify insurance information by using Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system; scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.
• Refer eligibility enrollment and means test when necessary to the appropriate area.
• Knowledge of scheduling appointments but not limited to re-scheduling, cancelling, no-show, and recall reminders.

Work Schedule: Full-Time. 4pm - 12:30am (Including Holidays) - Work Schedule to be set by Supervisor

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)

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.

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.

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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet Basic Requirements AND Grade Determinations listed below at the time of application.

In accordance with VA Handbook 5005/117 Part II Appendix G45 Medical Support Assistant Series.

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. No experience required.

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.

Creditable Experience 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 position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.

Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical 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 to the full-time workweek.

Grade Determinations:

In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following education AND experience criteria MUST be met:

GS-5 Grade Level: Experience One (1) year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level (this experience includes ability to communicate with others in a courteous and helpful manner; ability to navigate and use automation equipment, computer systems and software, scheduling programs; knowledge of medical terminology to assist in care of patients; skilled in recording patient messages and understanding physician request regarding medical care at internal or external clinics).

OR Education. Two (2) years of education above high school.

Candidates MUST demonstrate all of the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (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.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying light items such as papers, books and small parts, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

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).

Grandfathering Provision. All MSAs employed in V