Lead Medical Support Assistant

Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

• Plans and organizes work with general assistance from the supervisor as to meet local and VA-wide time frames to complete analysis requirements, reports and special assignments and only refers to the non-routine and high technical problems to the supervisor.
• Responsible for reporting backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty in securing information from clinicians or the record.
• Responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of information obtained to carry out required duties.
• Routinely communicates with physicians, case managers, and other allied health professional staff using sound interpersonal skills and is constantly aware of sensitive information.
• Works independently making decisions based on guidelines, precedents and regulations and performs duties in such a manner that only minimal supervision is required.
• All other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: 4:00 pm to 12:30am,Thursday - Monday
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 10227F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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:

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

English: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English.

Education/Experience:

• Experience. No experience required
• Education: Must possess a 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).

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE, YOU MUST MEET THE GRADE REQUIREMENTS AT THE GS-6 LEVEL TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION.

GS-6 Grade Level Requirements:

Experience: Must possess one (1) year of experience that is directly related to the duties of an MSA. To be creditable, this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-5, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities. Experience at this level includes assignments such as advising clinical staff on current administrative processes; answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit; scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults in a computerized scheduling system to include interpreting and verifying provider orders; 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; and coordinating administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other facilities. In addition, applicants must demonstrate the following KSAs:


AND


Demonstrate knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

KSA- 1 Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines.


KSA- 2 Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect, ensuring compliance with established policies and regulations.

KSA-3 Ability to provide staff development and training.

KSA-4 Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage priorities, and coordinate with staff in the unit in order to complete duties in an accurate and timely manner. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work

KSA -5 Ability to review and monitor data to ensure all reports are complete and accurate.


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


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.

How you will be evaluated

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

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 Federal employees.
4. All other applicants.

Note: Veteran's Preference is not applicable to VA employees or employees of the other Federal agencies.

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)

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 (VA)
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Other (1)
• Performance Appraisal
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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

• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)

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.

Next steps