Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Advanced Medical Support Assistant

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant in the Primary Care / Subspecialty Medicine service line at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. The incumbent's work impacts the administrative aspect of patient care, including : access, scheduling / coordinating appointments using advanced clinic access principles, collecting and updating demographic and insurance information, managing the Electronic Waiting List (EWL), patient processing and customer service. Responsibilities duties include, but are not limited to : Incumbent is responsible for assuring that various aspects of staffing, training, compliance, reporting, quality assurance, and budgetary initiatives are met. The incumbent plays an integral role in identifying and developing ways to resolve problems with the administrative and clinical staff on access, customer service, patient flow, revenue, and data validation issues. A large part of the duties of a Clinical Support Section employee is acting as a receptionist at the clinic, either face-to-face or telephonically, requiring excellent customer service skills. The work requires a high degree of judgment in responding to both employee and patient concerns and providing solutions to process problems as they affect day-to-day operations. The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (i.e. PACT) and performs receptionist duties, customer service and other duties assigned for the proper and timely treatment of patients and maintains appointment schedules for one or more outpatient clinics. He / she must assist with clinic access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times, location, or dates as well as shift patients to other healthcare providers as conflict with staffing and / or coverage occurs. The MSA participates in the daily team let huddles and weekly team meetings where patient care planning and management occur, except during staff shortages for coverage. Daily review of active / pending consults, EWL, Recall list and Audio care communications for accuracy and disposition. The ability to distribute and balance the workload among employees in accordance with established work flow or job specialization, assures timely accomplishment of the assigned workload and assures that each employee has enough work to keep busy. Organizes and implements quality assurance monitors; prepares a wide variety of administrative reports and documents for supervisor and Health Administration Service / Business Office generates patient workload reports for validation and monitors activity to assure consistent and accurate reporting. Incumbent intervenes to resolve difficult problems and diffuses potential dissatisfaction with VA services in order to prevent congressional and adverse publicity. The work requires the ability to work in a busy environment or via telework to multi-task, lead, and organize a large group of staff in various work areas to produce results, ensure compliance, as well as process and follow-up on a very high volume of phone calls or written requests from patients inquiring about appointments or procedures.

Work Schedule : Monday-Friday; 0800am-1630 pm

Telework : Not eligible for telework

Functional Statement # : 000000

Relocation Incentives : Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report : Not required

Requirements 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 examination. 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. In 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 :

• KSA Recommendation - All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in your application may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA (found below) to demonstrate how you have gained each one in your application package or on a supplemental document

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 entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

Certification : None Required

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.

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 : Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) GS-6

Experience : One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level, which includes, but not limited to : 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.

AND 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.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06.

Physical Requirements : You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

References : VA Handbook 5005 / 117 Part II, Appendix G45

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 : http : / / ope.ed.gov / accreditation / . 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 : https : / / sites.ed.gov / international / recognition-of-foreign-qualifications / .