Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)
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Job Location:
Waterloo, WI - USA
Yearly Salary:
$ 49711 - 64623
Posted on:
18 hours ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
Summary
The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) serves within the Primary Care Service Line at the Waterloo VA Clinic. This position is in the ICC at the Iowa City VA Health Care System and is the first administrative point-of-contact for Veterans family and other visitors. This position will provide introductory administrative support to clinical staff members and Veterans in addition to overseeing the daily clerical functions of the scheduling of all Primary Care areas.
Major duties include but are not limited to:
- Demonstrates positive people skills in interactions which reflect caring service orientation professionalism understanding helpfulness and concern toward Veterans visitors and other employees of the Medical Center in both verbal and written communication
- Maintains Veteran rights confidentiality and individuality.
- Resolves issues at the lowest level and in a timely manner.
- Set limits/boundaries which are clearly defined within the MSA/Veteran relationship.
- Have Advanced knowledge of medical terminology to ensure that Veterans and other callers are directed to the most appropriate place of assistance. Participate in and independently follow up on team huddles/meetings sharing information and collaborating with the medical team assuring continuity of care.
- Is the main point of contact for all Secure Messages/Message Manager sent to their team; will either fulfill the request or forward to the appropriate staff for follow up and completion.
- Serves as an expert in the department for scheduled and unscheduled visits.
- Maintains flexibility in adapting to changes in schedule and workload. Assists other team members willingly.
- Prepare reports in various formats and present data to various organizational levels.
- Screens call and determine if the call requires attention from a Registered Nurse Licensed Practical Nurse Provider or other designated professional.
- Maintains and secures medical records as appropriate and in accordance with the Health Insurance Probability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
- Enters appropriate information into the Veterans electronic medical record.
- Assures appropriate forms including and documents are presented sent out or completed by the Veterans.
- Facilitates Release of Information for records and documents being received from outside facilities monitor and track the progress of received required information.
- Provides advanced clerical support to the area they are assigned including support to any staff member.
- Sets deadlines and priorities adjusting the flow to help meet those deadlines and workload.
- Obtains and monitors the use of services supplies and equipment for their offices area.
- Updates Veterans demographic information to include the following: address phone number insurance preferred method of communication guardianship reminder and other information as new programs are added or changed.
- Receives and responds to inquiries via Secure Messaging Message Manager VAR VEText letters or phone calls. These can include getting information to Veteran care teams through the entry of a note into the CPRS system and alerting the appropriate clinical staff member requesting tests or medications questions on appointments scheduling and various other inquiries. The MSA can recognize and refer urgent inquiries to clinical staff for immediate action as needed.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior military service experience.
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 $144000 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)
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 00000
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.
- 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.
Qualifications
BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 Part II Chapter 3 Section A paragraph 3.g.).
Experience and Education.
- 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
- 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.
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.
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.
Grade Determinations
Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) GS-6
Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level.
Examples of qualifying experience: Independently performs a full range of MSA duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes. Answers phones greets patients relays messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit schedules appointments including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
i. 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.
ii. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines ensuring compliance with established processes policies and regulations.
iii. 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.
iv. 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.
v. 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.
vi. 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 GS-6.
Physical Requirements: The work is basically sedentary and performed in an office environment or clinic area.
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: 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:
Additional information
Receiving Service Credit for 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 leave accrual based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38 and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations Security and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government passionate about the ideals of our American republic and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Required Experience:
Junior IC
Key Skills
- EMR Systems
- Clinical Laboratory Experience
- Athenahealth
- Algebra
- eClinicalWorks
- Primary Care Experience
- Phlebotomy
- Medical office experience
- Vital Signs Experience
- Experience Administering Injections
- Medical Terminology
- Medication Administration
