Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Clarification from the agency

Open to U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S. Current permanent employees of the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center and surrounding CBOCs-1st area of consideration. 2nd AOC- current permanent VA employees. 3rd AOC-current permanent employees of other Federal Agencies. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

**2 vacancies located in the following locations: Gainesville VA Clinic and The Villages VA Clinic**

Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, rescheduling patient's appointments and/or consult tracking; entering no-show information; monitoring the electronic wait list; preparing for clinic visits; monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information.

Functions or Scopes of Assigned Duties

• Accepts and supports the guiding principles of this Healthcare System. Performs assigned duties in a manner that promotes quality health care, outstanding customer service, and the maintenance of an environment committed to serving the veteran.
• Actively supports the team concept and functions as a team player. Contributes to team initiatives and continuously strives to improve the effectiveness of the Diagnostic Imaging scheduling team.
• Expected to provide administrative coordination of patient care and to advise the technical staff on administrative and logistical factors associated with direct patient care.
• Acts in the capacity of liaison between patients, team members as well as specialty and ancillary services. Provides information and technical support on the availability of services, points of contact and necessary authorization and approvals.
• Serves as the communication coordinator for the team. Ensures that all visitors and telephone calls are referred in a prompt and courteous manner. Ascertain the nature of the call or the business of the visitor and determines the appropriate action. The incumbent will assist with requests for information from patients and/or staff members but when the situation cannot be resolved, will refer individual to the appropriate person or service. Relays messages to team members when appropriate.
• Has a thorough functional knowledge of various VA directives and hospital policies pertinent to patient care. Analyzes situations to determine what decisions can be made or if advice of the lead or supervisor is needed.
• Can work in a variety of database systems and the EHR to schedule appointments, monitor appointment times, and clinic availability.
• Provides coverage at reception desks, greeting patients, registering exams, answering and routing calls. Updates patient demographics and insurance information. Monitors ICB and captures eligible insurance information.
• Communicates effectively with people from diverse cultural, educational, and organizational backgrounds within and outside this Healthcare System. Works and communicates effectively with all health care team members, peers, patients and significant others. Demonstrates good interpersonal skills in doing so.
• Keeps team members informed and up-to-date concerning appropriate established regulations. Regulations concern eligibility for care, availability of and requesting special tests and procedures. Must analyze, interpret and implement regulations accurately to reflect current operating procedures and is familiar with procedures concerning changes in regulations or policies.
• Responsible for checking patients in upon arrival and reviews clinic daily to ensure all patients have been checked out.
• Coordinates with team members to assure that patients are seen at their scheduled time within the clinic setting by enlisting the assistance of both the technical staff and the clinician (if necessary) when there are scheduling difficulties.
• AMSA are responsible for entering the no-show information for patients who fail to report for scheduled appointments. No shows are to be entered daily. Morning appointments must be entered as a no show by noon. Afternoon appointments are to be entered by close of business. Assures patients are involved in and informed of scheduling of appointments to minimize no shows.
• Completes assignments and all duties assigned.

Work Schedule: 8am-4:30pm Monday through Friday
Telework: Available at the Gainesville VA Clinic. Not available at The Villages VA Clinic.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 50229F

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.
• 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:

Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.)

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

Experience. None.

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.

Grandfathering Provision. Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard (5/7/2026), are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable.


Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified.

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06.
Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAS:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
4. 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.
5. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
6. 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.

Assignment. For all assignments above the FPL, the higher-level duties must be of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. At the advanced level, the Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) (AMSA) performs difficult and responsible specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources. Recommend changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments as necessary. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.).

Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate; participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers; as needed; assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions; enters appropriate information into the electronic record; monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure; manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; informs team members about shared patients (i.e., those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community).


Preferred Experience: Scheduling experience including radiology and Vista packaging, knowledge of CPRS ISS and Diagnostic Imaging, customer service and the ability to multi task.

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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6.

Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items.

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.

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
• Resume/CV for Title 38 & Hybrid Title 38 Applications that may exceed two (2) pages. (Please be sure to include full-time and/or part-time hours for each history of employment listed on your resume)
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' preference does not apply to this announcement as this occupation falls under the VA occupation shortage list.

Next steps