Medical Support Assistant

Summary
MSAs perform a variety of support duties that facilitate the work of physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nursing assistants, and other members of the medical facility who provide patient care.
The functions of this position are serving as an initial point of contact for the units, clinics, patient, and call centers located within Hines VA, completing a variety of job duties included but not limited to, clinic cancellations, clinic modifications, and new clinic builds.
This job is open to

• Federal employees - Excepted service
  Current excepted service federal employees.
• Internal to an agency
  Current federal employees of this agency.
• The public
  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency
This position is open to the public.
This position is a hybrid title 38 occupation reported among the occupations with the largest staffing shortages and, therefore, under 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for Fiscal Year 2023.
Current, Permanent VA/VHA Employees must upload a copy of the most recent2023 SF-50 (that is not for an award), indicating current VA/VHA employment.
Videos
Duties
Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties:
The MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model or other specialty care setting where the specialty care team model is used.

• Ancillary Services. Clinics that provide diagnostic studies and/or support services to assist in the provision of patient care. Areas of service include, but are not limited to, Blind and Vision Rehabilitation, Diagnostic Laboratory, Nutrition and Food Service, Prosthetics, Radiology (x-rays and imaging), Recreation and Creative Arts Therapists (music, art, dancing, and drama), Social Work (housing, discharge, planning, family support), and Speech/Language Pathology.
• Call Center. Centralized unit dedicated to multiple ancillary and interdisciplinary outpatient clinics that determine the need of the caller (i.e., scheduling, processing refill requests, reviewing CPRS, and routing clinical questions to appropriate clinical staff).
• Care in the Community (CitC). The local VA Community Care department is the 'clinic' that coordinates all patient services for Veterans outside the VA Healthcare System.
• Consult Management. Includes the basic review and scheduling of patient consult appointments and further review of a specific clinics consults, (i.e., care in the Community consults, primary care provider entered consults and specific clinic consult listings). This review includes identification of status issues, (i.e. scheduled but not linked; scheduled to past appointment; significant findings, etc.) and taking appropriate action to fix such issues or referring to lead/supervisor for further action.
• Direct Scheduling. Schedules routine appointments without a consult referral.
• Interdisciplinary Coordinated Care Delivery Models. Coordination of care across all elements of the broader health care system, which may include primary care, mental health, specialty care, Call Center, and community care services and support.
• Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). Team of health care professionals that provides comprehensive primary care in partnership with the patient, and the patient's personal support person(s), and manages and coordinates health care services consistent with agreed upon goals of care.
• Patient Systems. Various software, hardware system products, and data portals used to transfer and capture information electronically used in the support of the daily operation of the unit. These systems include, but are not limited to: Veterans Integrated System Technology Architecture (VistA), Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS), Vetlink, VistA Scheduling Graphical User Interface (VS GUI), Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB), VHA Support Service Center (VSSC), Fee Basis Claim System (FBCS), Bed Management Systems (BMS), Compensation and Pension Record Interchange (CAPRI), Veterans Benefit Management System (VBMS), Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL), Patient Centered Management Model (PCMM), Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), Telecare Record Manager (TRM), Automated Call Delivery (ACD), Audio Care (AC), Business Intelligence Service Line (BISL), Scheduling Audit Tool (SAT), and Veterans Affairs Portal to view external medical records. Patient systems names may vary from institutions and change over time.
• Specialty Clinics. A variety of specialized medical, surgical, and mental health outpatient clinics. Services performed in the Specialty Care Clinics include, but are not limited to: Arthritis Clinic, Cardiology Clinic, Cardio-Thoracic Clinic, Chest/Pulmonary Clinic, Colorectal Clinic, Dermatology Clinic, Diabetes Education, Ears, Nose and Throat Clinic, Eye Clinic, Gastroenterology Clinic, General Surgery Clinic, Hand and Plastics Reconstruction Clinic, Liver Clinic, Metabolic/Endocrine Clinic, Neurology and Memory Disorder Clinic, Neurosurgery Clinic, Orthopedics Clinic, Podiatry Clinic, Proctology Clinic, Renal Clinic, Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, Urology Clinic, and Vascular Clinic. Specialty clinic names may vary from institutions and change over time.
• Performs other directly related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full Time, CST, 7:00am to 3:30pm, 7:30am to 4:00pm, 8am to 4:30pm, 3:00pm to 1130pm, 12:00am to 8:00am, which may include weekends and holidays. Preferred shift may be selected in the Assessment section.
Telework Eligible: Not Eligible.
Functional Statement #: 00000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Must pass pre-employment evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.
• Current, Permanent VA/VHA Employees must upload a copy of the most recent 2023 SF-50 (that is not for an award), indicating current VA/VHA employment.
• This position is a hybrid title 38 occupation reported among the occupations with the largest staffing shortages and, therefore, under 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for Fiscal Year 2023.

Qualifications
Basic Requirements:
The following are the basic requirements and amounts of experience and/or education required to qualify for this position. Creditable experience is defined as, experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) associated with current Medical Support Assistant responsibilities. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as a Medical Support Assistant.
English Language Proficiency
Experience:
One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level;
OR
Education. Four years of education above high school.
Assignment. This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level, the MSA independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes. The MSA is responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; 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 patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
i. 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.
ii. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
iii. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
iv. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
v. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
vi. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
References: VA Handbook 5005/31, Part II, Appendix G45, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standards. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.
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.
Education
IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.
Additional information
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.
Receiving Service Credit or 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.
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.
This position is a hybrid title 38 occupation reported among the occupations with the largest staffing shortages and, therefore, under 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for Fiscal Year 2023.
Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

• Benefits
  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 ...