Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. Open to all US Citizens.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties include, but are not limited to:

1. Education Liaison for Surgical Services.

• Keeps staff informed of the status of their education requirements and requests, as directed by the operating room nurse manager. Maintains training, competency and in-services logs for associated managers within the surgery departments.

2. Customer Service.

• Gather medical information if needed, as directed by the nurse manager(s)
• Reports backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians.
• Ability to identify customers' concerns, perform tasks required to resolve the issues with accuracy and timeliness, and follow-up as necessary to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
• Resolve difficult problems and diffuse potential dissatisfaction with VA services.
• Greet patients and family members upon their arrival at the Preop-Op desk; assist in checking the patient in for surgery, notifying the preop nurses, and accompanying the patient/family into a preoperative bay as directed by the preop nursing staff.
• Greet vendors; provide assistance for signing into the vendor tracking system per NWI policy; provide name badge to the vendor per NWI policy; escort vendor to locker room or appropriate operating room as needed.
• Greet surgeons and residents maintain a courteous, compassionate, and helpful attitude with all individuals encountered throughout the day

3. Maintain medical charts and reports.

• Generate reports and monitor activity as requested by the nurse managers and distributes to appropriate individuals.
• Create and respond to messages within 24 hours while on duty, not accounting for leave.
• Serve as a technical advisor and liaison for daily use software.
• Protect sensitive patient information by keeping PII/PHI properly stored.

4. Timekeeping Duties.

• Accurately enters timecard information for OR, Preop/PACU, Surgery Clinic to include shift worked, time off, sick leave, on-call time, overtime, FMLA.
• Maintains FMLA tracking log and keeps manager informed when employee(s) are requesting FMLA outside of approved occurrences.
• Keeps manager informed when employee(s) reaching 40 hours of remaining FMLA.
• Manages, creates, and distributes bi-weekly employee sign-in sheets; prints new sheets before the new pay period; denotes scheduled on-call hours.
• Completes corrections timely; ensures all timecards are verified timely; changes employee TOD as needed and with manager approval; updates online call spreadsheet; completed DOAs/payroll ticket to have appropriate backups for second level approvals for overtime and time off.
• Enters payroll tickets when issues with timekeeping arise; keeps department manager(s) informed of the issue, the ticket placement, and the identified resolution.
• Coordinates with back-up timekeepers for coverage during times of leave; communicates coverage plans in advance of leave with the department manager(s).

5. Serves as a mentor to new surgery AMSAs.

• Learns new processes to oversee training and implementation among other AMSAs.
• Provides guidance to staff members to include changes in policy and procedures.
• Provides training during orientation and/or remedial training for existing staff as needed.
• Resolve daily workplace issues as appropriate.

6. Performs administrative duties.

• Monitor copier/fax machines.
• Answers and routes incoming phone calls to the appropriate person.
• Answers the telephone with a pleasant greeting to include location (surgery department), employee name (this is *first name*), ending with a pleasantry (how can I help you).
• Enters and monitors work orders in Maximo, YourIT, Payroll and other software systems as needed.

Work Schedule: Full-time; Monday-Friday, 0700-1530
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
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)
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 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

All requirements must be met by the close date of this announcement, 09/11/2026.

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.
• Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations:

GS-6 Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)
Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade, GS-5. This experience includes: Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients; Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution; 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; 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.
AND
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
(a) 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.
(b) 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.
(c) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
(d) 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.
(e) Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
(f) 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.

Preferred Experience: Experience in a surgery department or clinic preferred. MSA experience preferred.

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 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.

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:

• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Copy of high school diploma/transcript including homeschooling (unofficial or official) OR GED Certificate OR Proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education OR Post-high school education

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)
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Copy of high school diploma/transcript including homeschooling (unofficial or official) OR GED Certificate OR Proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education OR Post-high school education
• Recommended: Write to Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) - See "Qualifications" section of announcement
• Proof of Marriage Status
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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