Medical Support Assistant

Medical Support Assistant serves as an integral administrative part of the ward treatment team responsible for initiating and performing a variety of administrative duties. Employees use a broad working knowledge of all Healthcare System programs and services and of the varying priorities and procedures on the Medical Surgical Intensive Care Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment and Community Living Center (CLC) units to provide administrative coordination of patient care and to advise the professional staff on administrative and logistical factors associated with direct patient care. Employee serves as a key contact for Veterans and visitors providing information and assistance and acting upon administrative matters in the Veterans interest

Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Serving as the initial point of contact for the Inpatient Ward
• Scheduling patient appointments
• Tracking reviewing and responding to electronic orders consults return to clinic orders and other elements in the electronic medical record and medical systems
• Ensures that all required activities have been completed prior to discharged
• Process patient information (admits bed switches provider changes and transfers) in various medical systems
• Verifying orders are accurate
• Notifying staff of STAT and emergency orders
• Maintain review and update patient records according to set procedures
• Coordinates the release of information to various organizations in support of direct patient care needs
• Ensures all patient requests are noted in charts
• Respond to technical questions from patients or family members
• Cover staffing shortages to ensure the overall function of Health Administrative Service
• Work rotated weekends and holidays throughout the year as needed

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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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 the entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
• 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.

• 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.

• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; Experience includes but is not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints; interacting with both internal and external customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance and updating information in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system; obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines; OR
• Education: Four years of education above high school. AND

• 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.