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.
- 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 the entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
- 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.
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:
Creditable Experience. Knowledge of MSA Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.
Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and a range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
Medical Support Assistant, GS-5: In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following experience or education and required KSAs must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
- Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; Experience includes but is not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints; interacting with both internal and external customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance and updating information in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system; obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines; OR,
- Education: Four years of education above high school. AND,
Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs): Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
- Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports;
- Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients;
- Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
- Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work
- Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers;
- Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
References: VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5
Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.