Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees and all US Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo

The Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) utilizes numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability
• Schedules new and established patient appointments
• Tracks and facilitates completion of encounters and consults
• Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care
• Sets priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs
• Works with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record
• Monitors pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work)
• Manages electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues
• Participates and provides input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings
• Performs administrative follow up actions
• Participates in and independently follows up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care
• Evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested
• Gathers information and collects/compiles data to meet the needs of the service
• Educates providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and brings to the attention of the providers
• Takes care of inventories, supplies, and office supplies.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm or 8:00am to 4:30pm (Subject to change based on needs of agency).
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 542-04318F
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.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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:

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

Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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.

Grade Determination: In addition to the basic requirements listed above, the following experience and knowledge, skills, and abilities criteria must be met:

Experience: One (1) year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Examples of qualifying experience include but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information; coordinating administrative functions related to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals; and determining appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, etc.). AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g. medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns.
• Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care.
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care administrative functions to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

Preferred Experience:

• High volume clinic scheduling in a hospital or doctor's office
• Advanced customer service skills as evidenced by daily interaction and communication with clinicians, patients, families and coworkers.
• Experience in a clinic setting with multiple inputs (in person, telephone, instant message communications) that need timely and professional resolution.
• Experience with 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-6.

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.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Teamwork

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:

• 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 (VA)
• Diploma
• Resume
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Veterans' Preference: This position is one of the hybrid title 38 occupations reported among the occupations with the largest staffing shortages and, therefore, 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for appointments made during the Fiscal Year 2026.

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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