Lead Medical Support Assistant

Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent Facility, Agency Employees of Martinsburg VAMC & CBOCs and Federal Employees. CRITICAL Shortage LIST OIG: 38 U.S.C. 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for appointments made during the fiscal year to hybrid title 38 occupations among those reported to have the largest staffing shortages. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Duties:

• The Lead Advanced Medical Support Assistant ( AMSA) is responsible for the coordination of AMSA assignments and workflow found in the Care in the Community Unit.
• The lead assists the unit with complex and non-standard, procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources.
• Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to:
  • Assures coverage of all areas of responsibility;
  • Conducts ongoing reviews to ensure quality of work;
  • Ensures accurate and timely scheduling of appointments;
  • Provides guidance to staff members to includes changes in policies and procedures;
  • Distributes and balances workload
  • Creates and maintains employee work schedules;
  • Orients and provides on the job training for new and current employees, ensures training requirements are met; and
  • Acts as a liaison between AMSA staff, patients, and other interdisciplinary staff in order to resolve day to day conflicts.
• Incumbent intervenes to resolve difficult problems and diffuses potential dissatisfaction with VA services.
• Serves as technical advisor and liaison with contacts at all levels.
• Incumbent must be thoroughly versed in and be able to explain complex regulations and eligibility criteria concerning veteran entitlements and VA benefits, priorities for care, access to care and advanced clinic access.
• The work requires the ability to work in a busy environment, multi-task, lead, and organize a large group of staff in various work areas to produce results,
• Ensure compliance, as well as efficient processes and follow-up on a very high volume of phone calls or written requests from patients inquiring about appointments.
• The work requires a high degree of judgement, fact-finding and coordination with people at various levels (patients, management and vendors primarily).
• Additional duties or tasks may be assigned by the supervisor to ensure efficient daily operations.

VA Careers - Lead Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/UJO_XH5uCLs


Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional


Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
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)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
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 #: 613-25379-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Available

Conditions of employment

RESUME REQUIREMENTS:
Your resume MUST include the following information:

1. Job Title (for each position)
2. Description of duties (be as detailed as possible)
3. Month and year start/end dates (e.g. June 2018 to April 2020) of employment
4. Full-time or Part-time status and include average hours worked per week

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• 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.
• 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

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:

Citizenship:
Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

Education:
Do you possess one of the following:

• High school diploma or transcript (including homeschooling)
• General Education Development (GED) certificate
• Proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education
• Post-high school education
• You do not have one of the education levels listed above, but you were in the Medical Support Assistant occupation (GS-0679) on a permanent appointment with the Department of Veterans Affairs as of February 5, 2026, meeting all qualification requirements as part of the grandfathering provision

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).

Grandfathering Provision:
Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply:

(1) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.

(2) Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.

NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/ placements.


GRADE DETERMINATIONS:
In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates MUST meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified.

Lead Medical Support Assistant, GS-07

Experience:
One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade GS-06.

Assignment:
For all Lead assignments the Lead MSA must spend at least 25% or more of their time performing lead duties. The Lead MSA is responsible for the coordination of Advanced MSA assignments and workflow found in an interdisciplinary unit. The Lead MSA is responsible for daily workload assessments, assigning work, and assuring proper staffing coverage; evaluating training records; and determining training needs of MSAs to provide support across interdisciplinary settings. The Lead assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources. Assignments at this level include but are not limited to ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments; providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures; creating and maintaining employee work schedules; and acting as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, patients, and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):
In addition to meeting the experience above, the candidate MUST demonstrate the following KSAs:

• 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.
• Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.
• 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.
• Ability to provide staff development and training.
• 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.

Preferred Experience:
Experience supervising and scheduling outpatient appointments

Has had at least 1 year of office experience performing administrative duties, working with billing and financial processes

Reading and interpreting invoices for reconciliation and resolution of billing issues, critical thinking, showing advanced knowledge of community care software including:
CTM
CPRS
PPMS
HSRM
VISTA blue
REF DOC
VISTA CAPTURE
EPSI
TEAMS

Demonstrates knowledge and proficiency working in Microsoft Office

Demonstrates customer service interaction with community vendors and contractors and Veterans

Has work experience managing multiple competing responsibilities in a fast paced environment with deadlines

Demonstrates knowledge of compiling data from multiple sources and compilation of data, for meetings and agendas


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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-07. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-07.

Physical Requirements: VA Directive and Handbook 5019 Work is partially sedentary, with frequent walking, standing, bending. carrying of light items such as papers and books, or small parts. Some slight physical effort may be required. Incumbent may be susceptible to eyestrain from working long hours on the computer.

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; 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:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

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.


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.

• Full CV/Resume without 2 page limitation.
• Resume
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps