Medical Support Assistant (Decedent Affairs Coordinator) - Recruit/Relo Incentive Authorized Job in Dallas, TX

Vacancy No. CAZM-12657482-25-PT Department Veterans Health Administration
Salary $51,271.00 to $66,649.00 Grade 5 to 5
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/3/2025 Close Date 1/13/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Dallas, TX


Summary

A Recruitment Incentive may be authorized for a Highly Qualified Individual.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

The Public. All current Federal employees please apply to: CAZM-12657480-25-PT

Duties

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo
Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf

Medical Support Assistant: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdf

Duties are but not limited to:
MSA/Decedent Affairs position provides a variety of administrative and clerical services to patients, their families, and beneficiaries. The incumbent serves as the Patient Funds Back-up Coordinator and Decedent Affairs Coordinator within Medical Administration Service. The incumbent is responsible for the administrative processing of all patient's funds requests, i.e., deposits, withdrawals, account balancing, etc., and the administrative processing of all death cases.

The Patient Funds Back-up Coordinator maintains and controls all patient funds accounts and performs necessary funds and services action. Regular duties include receipt of deposits for individual accounts, analysis of receipts as to the source, i.e. , whether gratuitous or private, posting of deposits to individual accounts, examination of requests for withdrawals, advising the Chief, MAS or his designee as to whether the withdrawal is of a nature to warrant approval, determining and posting the withdrawal authority to requests for expenditure, posting of withdrawals to individual accounts, determining maximum and minimum balances to be maintained, examination of all possible sources of income to meet needs, the taking of action to replenish accounts, the taking of action to stop payments when the maximum balance is reached, maintaining control balances, reconciling individual accounts with control balances and the maintenance of various administrative documents supporting actions taken. The Patient Funds Back-up Coordinator maintains a comprehensive knowledge of the state laws and regulations pertinent to the disposition of funds of competent and incompetent deceased patients. The incumbent applies knowledge of state laws and regulations to accurately determine if the person(s) legally designated to inherit the funds of the recipient. included are technical aspects such as authorization for transfers of funds in cases where no legal heir exists.

The Decedent Affairs Coordinator is responsible for the administrative processing of all matters related to deaths occurring in this VA Medical Center Transitional Care Unit (TCU). This requires interviewing and advising the families of deceased patients of all benefits to which they are entitled. The Decedent Affairs Coordinator are responsible for the preparation of the State of Texas Death Certificate. This requires the thorough review of pertinent documents of information. As a medico-legal document the verifications, validation and accuracy of the Death Certificate is of paramount importance to the medical center. Decedent Affairs Coordinator is responsible for reviewing all medical and administrative records of deceased patients and ensuring their accuracy. All discrepancies identified will be brought to the immediate attention of the supervisor and the Chief, Medical Administration Service. The incumbent ensures that sympathy letters are promptly and accurately typed, for the signature of the Medical Center Director, and forwarded to the next of kin within two weeks of patient demise.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8am- 4:30pm
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): NotAuthorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
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 #: 50528-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • Subject to background/security investigation.
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.
  • You must possess a valid Driver's license.

Qualifications

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. MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.
  • 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 entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
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: GS-05:
Education: Four years of education above high school. OR
Experience: Experience must be equivalent to the GS-04 grade level 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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate [all of] the KSAs below:
i. 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.
ii. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
iii. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
iv. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
v. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
vi. 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:
  • Previous Clerical or Administrative type work.
  • 1 year of experience operating computer programs, applications and systems (i.e. email, Word, excel, Vista, CPRS).
  • 1 year of good customer service experience.
  • Previous experience receiving and making telephone calls.
  • Experience working independently to accomplish duties or tasks.
  • Experience resolving informal/formal complaints from customers.
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-05.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary (up to 6 hours); Walking (up to 4 hours); Bending (occasionally); Standing (up to 1 hour); Lifting (up to 5 lbs.); Pushing (cart with office supplies); Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Talking on the telephone using a telephone headset; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Hearing (aid permitted).

Driver's License Requirement: The position requires occasional travel away from the duty station. Must be able to obtain and maintain a valid Texas and Federal Driver License to operate a government vehicle. This travel may require the transporting of PHI information.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

  1. Accreditation Information: Please site specific the accreditation information from the qualification standards or use the generic description for all others. Example - Sample for LPMHC: The master's or doctoral degree must be fully accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Verification of accreditation may be made obtained from http://www.cacrep.org/directory/.
  2. NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.
  3. NOTE: If your school was accredited by at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

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.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

  • Resume


The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to 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 (Schedule A)
  • Disability Letter (VA)
  • License
  • Other (1)
  • PCS Orders
  • Performance Appraisal
  • Professional Certification
  • Resume
  • Separation Notice (RIF)
  • SF-15
  • SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
  • Transcript


"Note: 38 U.S.C. 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans preference to external applicants for appointments made from this announcement."

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 01/13/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12657482.

  1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
  2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

To verify your application is complete, log into your USA JOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USA JOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USA JOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Agency contact information

VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
Address
Dallas VA Medical Center
4500 South Lancaster Road
Dallas, TX 75216
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.

You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.

NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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