Clarification from the agency

NOTE: Open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees and all US Citizens. The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo

The position serves as the Lead Advanced Medical Support Assistant in the Clinical Operations/Health Administration Service. S/He uses initiative in completing recurring assignments independently and without specific instructions, but refers deviations, problems and unfamiliar situations to the supervisor for assistance. Work is performed collaboratively in an Interdisciplinary Coordinate Care delivery model (Specialty Care Setting). The employee works closely with the staff in the inpatient and outpatient clinic areas to ensure the direct activities related to the day to day care of patients is maintained. The work requires knowledge of various policies and procedures relating to the business rules regarding Scheduling, Clinical Access and the proper flow of work within the team contributes significantly to the daily business activities.

Duties include (but are not limited to):

• Provides educational sessions to train new employees in clerical process in an efficient and effective manner to ensure that clerical processes, functions and goals are understood and met.
• Utilizes knowledge of VA policies, regulations, guidelines and process as they relate to the scheduling of patient appointments, consults, and pre-appointment clinical requirements(i.e. labs, EKGs, x-rays) to ensure readiness for the patient visit.
• Monitors clinic's Access to care.
• Monitors ICB usage ensuring insurance is collected at time of appointments and captured appropriately by the incumbent and other scheduling staff.
• Must keep abreast of rapidly changing regulations, directives, software patches, programs, and processes involved in the delivery of the healthcare benefits package.
• Assists with the clean-up of the EARR (Encounter Action Required Report) and delinquent recall report.
• Screens/receive phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of request and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes.
• Prepares correspondence and memos as needed.
• Promotes Veteran registration for and utilization of HealtheVet (MHV).
• Stocks basic office supplies for the executive suite.
• Enters Veterans seeking emergent/urgent care, scheduling appointments accurately.
• Utilizes call lists and telephones Veterans to pre-register them before their scheduled visits.
• Incumbent updates all patient demographics.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Recruitment Incentive (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)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: F01612
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Notifications:

• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• Due to a critical staffing shortage, 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference for this job announcement.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• This position is a not covered by a Bargaining Unit.
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.

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 dentification 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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.).
• 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
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.
• 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.

GRADE REQUIREMENTS:

GS-7 Lead MSA

• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level

AND

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
  • Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources;
  • Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting;
  • Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines;
  • Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff;
  • Ability to provide staff development and training; and
  • Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.

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

This vacancy announcement will be filled above the full performance level.

Physical Requirements: Work is performed in an adequately lighted and climate controlled office. Incumbent must work in a multi-screen computer environment being able to use VistA, CPRS and BMS screens bilaterally. Work is mostly sedentary but may require some standing, walking, bending, twisting and stair climbing.

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.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.

2. All other VA employees.

3. All other applicants.

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

• Resume

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

RESUME REMINDER - Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:

• Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
• Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
• Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
• 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
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

NOTE: An incomplete application will receive a rating of IFFM (ineligible due to missing forms). Requests for reconsideration will not be considered for applicants who fail to submit a complete application package.

Next steps