Medical Support Assistant

Advanced Medical Support AssistantThe Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) in a VISN Clinical Contact Center (CCC) is part of an interprofessional healthcare team. The AMSA provides support across multiple ancillary and interprofessional clinics and determines the needs of Veterans/caregivers. The AMSA is responsible for routing clinical questions to appropriate clinical staff. The AMSA plays an integral role in achieving first-contact resolution through Veteran-centered care.Responsibilities include answering phones, secure messages and chat messages, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the VISN CCC, scheduling appointments, interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with the VHA national scheduling guidelines. Uses advance knowledge of health care process as it relates to the access of care to ensure Veteran appointment scheduling is efficient, operational, and prioritized to maintain Veteran flow and clinic readiness. Utilizes various software, hardware system products, and data portals to transfer and capture information electronically for the support of the daily operation of the unit.Work Schedule: 24/7 operations that offer a variety of shifts. Staff are required to rotate weekends and holidays. Tour of duty will be set based on the needs of the service and will be discussed during the interview.Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not AuthorizedPermanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not AuthorizedPay: Competitive salary and regular salary increasesPaid 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 VAInsurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)Telework: Not AvailableVirtual: This is not a virtual position.Functional Statement #: 598-99708-SRequirements 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.Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.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.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 positions; 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.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).Grade Determinations:In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the [GS-5] grade level.Assignment. The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments as necessary. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.).Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet 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.For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate [all of] the 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.Preferred Experience: Excellent computer skills.Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https