Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

The Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) positions for the Kansas City VA Medical Center (KCVAMC) are located within Business Office Service (BOS) and support various clinics throughout facilities.

Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Processes incoming patient secure messaging through My Healthy Vet 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).

Work Schedule: Full-Time. Various Tours/ Shifts Available- Days and Hours to be set by Supervisor.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
.Functional Statement #: 0000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification 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 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 meets Basic Requirements AND Grade Determinations listed below at the time of 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.
• 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;
• 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.
• Certification. None required.
• English Language Proficiency. AMSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 Part II Chapter 3 Section A paragraph 3.j.

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 VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title series and grade held which are a part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it the following provisions apply:(1) Such employees may be reassigned promoted or changed to a lower grade within the occupation.(2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.(3) If an employee who was converted to Title 38 Hybrid status under this provision leaves the occupation the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

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. 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 as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
• 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. For example an MSA employed 20 hours a week or on a 1/2-time basis would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above the following education OR experience criteria MUST be met:

Experience One (1) year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level: This experience includes scheduling canceling re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments. Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patients eligibility status (i.e. TRICARE sharing agreements collaterals research patient VA employee etc.)

AND

Candidates MUST demonstrate all of the Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs) below:

• Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g. medical doctors nurse practitioners physician assistants psychologists psychiatrists social workers clinical pharmacists and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines ensuring compliance with established processes policies and regulations.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively electronically by phone in person and in writing with internal and external customers. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels as well as resolving patient concerns.
• Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including but not limited to scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care.
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow and patient support care administrative functions to include but not limited to appointment cycles outside patient referrals follow-up care overbooking provider availability etc.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-6.

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 of light items such as papers books and small parts etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

Education

IMPORTANT: Education can not be combined or substituted for experience at the GS-6 grade level.