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 Language Proficiency: Medical Support Assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.
Education or Experience:
- One year above high school; OR
- 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
- Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
Creditable Experience. 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.
Grandfathering Provision: All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, which are a part of the basic requirements for the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:(1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted or changed to a lower grade within the occupation.(2) 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 this standard.(3) If an employee was converted to Title 38 hybrid status under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
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.
Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following experience and
ALL demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) criteria must be met when determining the grades of candidates.
Medical Support Assistant, GS-3:
Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements listed above.
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.
- Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals in a courteous and helpful manner in order to give instructions and arrange appointments.
- Ability to utilize computer systems to enter administrative data in patient systems.
- Ability to learn and utilize basic medical terminology to record patient messages and physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care.
Medical Support Assistant, GS-4:
Experience or Education
- One (1) year of experience in 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
- Completion of two (2) full years of education above high school
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.
- Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.
- Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e. computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.
- Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
- Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.
Medical Support Assistant, GS-5:
Experience or Education
- One (1) year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level. Qualifying specialized experience includes: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient's appointments and/or consults; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient health records; verifying third party insurance and updating information; OR
- Completion of four (4) full years of education above high school
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.
- 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.
Preferred Experience:
- Clinical experience in a hospital or doctor's office setting to include scheduling a high volume of appointments annually.
- High level customer service skills as evidenced by daily interaction and communication with clinicians, patients, families and coworkers.
- Evidence of work in a clinic setting with multiple inputs (in person, telephone, instant message communications) that need timely and professional resolution.
- Evidence of specific computer scheduling programs or software utilized in a clinic or hospital.
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-5.
Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment 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.