Advanced Medical Support Assistant-Office of Veterans Community Care

Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. The area of consideration will be referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent Jonathan M Wainwright Memorial VAMC facility employees. 2. Current permanent Agency (Department of Veterans Affairs) employees. Veterans' Preference: Does not apply to this announcement per OCHCO Bulletin, Annual Determination of Staffing Shortages, dated September 25, 2025.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
Duties will include, but are not limited to:

• AMSA receives and processes requests and applications for non-VA treatment.
• Ensures the legal requirements governing eligibility and entitlement to Fee Basis care are met.
• AMSA is the first line of support for the GS-05 MSA in comprehension and correct utilization of eligibility benefits.
• Counsels patients, their families, and agency employees on entitlement to Fee Basis benefits. Interprets Fee Basis policies to patients, their families, agency employees and Veterans organizations.
• Renders decisions on eligibility for Fee Basis care and reviews requests for care from healthcare providers.
• AMSA's can do all scheduling and consult functions per VHA National Office of Integrated Veteran Care and local and departmental guidelines. As an Advanced MSA they required the skill set and training to work the more complex requests.
• Coordinate with Service Chiefs and Service Administrative Officers to review the utilization by using various reports (e.g., Electronic Wait List, Consult Management), ensure the workload management is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments.
• Interpret and communicate requirements of VHA Scheduling Directives and complete accurate scheduling responsibilities.
• Provide education and training to other MSA staff such as scheduling appointments and utilize Electronic Waiting List accurately and timely, utilize Veterans scheduling input, and to decrease multiple trips for Veteran as much as possible.
• Follow-up on work in progress or spot check work not requiring review and review completed work to see that the supervisor's instruction on work sequence, procedures, methods, and deadlines have been met. Conduct ongoing reviews to ensure quality of work.
• Demonstrate the ability to adjust to changes in working conditions in a professional manner, handle differences of opinion in a businesslike fashion, and to function as a team member and leader, helping the group effort to be successful.
• Understand and implement the process of continuous quality improvement in the workplace. Instruct employees in specific tasks and job techniques and make available written instructions and practices.
• Orient and provide on the job training for new and current employees. Provide staff developmental and instructional training (e.g. formal, on-line, face-to-face) as needed. Ensure all training requirements are met to include mandatory training requirements.

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
Paid 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 VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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.
• 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

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.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Education: 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).

Grade Determinations:

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06.
Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

*In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
4. 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.
5. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
6. 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.

Preferred Experience: Referral management experience preferred.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6.

Physical Requirements: There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019, updated on 4/17/2026.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

NOTE: Claiming Facility, Agency, or Federal Employee Eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent (not more than 1 year old) Notification of Personnel Action, SF-50 (Not an award SF-50). Your SF-50 must include:

• Position title, pay plan/series/grade
• Tenure code
• Position Occupied type of appointment (Competitive or Excepted)

Within Grade Increase, General Adjustments, or Promotion SF-50's are best, Award SF-50's do not include this pertinent information.

RESUME REMINDER: Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:
-Job title-Month & Year start/end dates (e.g. June 2016 to April 2018)
-Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
-Duties (be as detailed as possible)
-Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate
• Performance Appraisal
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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