Advanced Medical Support Assistant

• 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 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 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.

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
English: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English.
Education/Experience:

• Experience. No experience required.
• Education: Must possess a High School Diploma General Education Development equivalency certificate or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

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).

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE YOU MUST MEET THE GRADE REQUIREMENTS AT THE GS-6 LEVEL TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION.

GS-6 LEVEL GRADE REQUIREMENTS:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Must have one (1) year of experience that is directly related to the duties of a MSA and that equips you with the particular knowledge skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-5 and demonstrate the knowledge skills and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities. Experience at this level includes but is not limited to: Advising clinical staff on current administrative processes. Answering phones greeting patients relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit scheduling canceling re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. 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
KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ABILITIES: You also must demonstrate the following KSAs:
KSA-1. Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
KSA-2. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines ensuring compliance with established processes policies and regulations.
KSA-3. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively electronically by phone in person and in writing. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels as well as resolving patient concerns.
KSA-4. 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.
KSA-5. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect the patient flow and patient support care to include but not limited to appointment cycles outside patient referrals follow-up care overbooking provider availability etc.
KSA-6. 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.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting. There may be some walking standing twisting turning sitting pushing bending repetitive keyboarding or carrying of light items. Some positions may require sitting for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while talking on a telephone headset.