Clarification from the agency

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

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

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties may include but not be limited to:

• Works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (i.e. PACT) and performs receptionist duties, customer service and other duties assigned to the proper and timely treatment of patients and maintains appointment schedules for one or more outpatient clinics.
• Assists with clinical access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times, location, or dates as well as shift patients to other healthcare providers as conflict with staffing and/or coverage occurs.
• Screens/receives phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of requests and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes.
• Independently manages position responsibilities with little supervision as well as set priorities and deadlines adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.
• Participates in the daily team led huddles and weekly team meetings where patient care planning and management occur, except during staff shortages for coverage.
• Notifies his/her supervisor when clinic access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes.
• Daily review of active/pending consults, recall list and Audio care communications for accuracy and disposition.
• Coordinates administrative services for veterans, family members, caregivers, and public, administrative and clinical staff to ensure continuity of inpatient and outpatient care.
• When records are received, the incumbent will ensure that all necessary health/administrative information are received, the incumbent will ensure that all necessary health/administrative information are integrated into Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) by scanning the records into the patient's chart and/or sending them to the Scanning Department.
• Incumbent develops and maintains effective working relationships with all clinical and administrative staff in determining priorities of activities in support of direct patient care.
• Interprets and applies to a complex body of pertinent laws, regulations, directives, and policies that relate to the administration of VA Healthcare Benefits.
• The ability to distribute and balance the workload among employees in accordance with established workflow or job specialization, ensures timely accomplishment of the assigned workload and ensures that each employee has enough work to keep busy.
• Directs daily work of Clinical Support Section employees in the absence of the supervisor. Incumbent must have the knowledge to assume the role of Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) during special projects or heavy workload, for leave, vacancies, or when the AMSA's are detailed to fill-in other areas.
• Responsible for maintenance of supplies and forms.
• Requires frequent changes to VI-IA directives, regulations and local policies and constant coordination to ensure compliance and standardization associated with Advanced Clinic Access principles.
• Conduct special audits, studies, or surveys to be utilized in the development of procedures, and to assist employees in collecting complete and appropriate data for reporting processes and for generating revenue.

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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 #: 000000

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

Basic Requirements:

• 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).
• Experience. No experience required.
• Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Licensure/Certification/Registration. None
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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 REQUIREMENTS:

Lead Medical Support Assistant - GS-7

Experience One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level, Examples of experience may include:

Assignment: 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.

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.
• 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/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

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.

Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

• Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
• All other permanent VA employees.
• Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies
• All other applicants.

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

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.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• **Highly Recommend** Write to the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) on a separate document - KSAs are found under qualification/grade requirements in the announcement.
• Resume/CV exceeding two-pages
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps