Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees.

The Supervisory Inpatient MSA is responsible for development and implementation of all operational plans related to the role of the inpatient MSA and inpatient administrative services across all service lines/inpatient hospital units. The incumbent will be assigned direct supervision of lower graded inpatient MSA staff. S/he develops performance standards, reviews and updates inpatient MSA Functional Statements, leads recruitment efforts and onboards new employees. S/he is responsible for the development and implementation of an orientation program to the inpatient MSA role program, ongoing training, refresher, remedial or just in time training plans.

Major duties include (but not limited to):

• Assuring coverage of all areas of responsibility.
• Conducting ongoing reviews to ensure quality of work.
• Ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments.
• Providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures; distributing and balancing workload; creating and maintaining employee work schedules.
• Responsible to conduct complaint resolution, service recovery and initiates disciplinary action when appropriate.
• Assigns and evaluates the work of inpatient MSA's.
• Resolves complex problems to ensure patient care services are met.
• Evaluating new equipment, processes or systems in order to make recommendations for improved operations.
• Responsible for extracting and analyzing data in order to provide reports in support of performance measures to senior leadership.
• Responsible for meeting accreditation standards involving inpatient administrative processes and leads performance improvement activities to improve compliance, workflow and quality.
• Ability to provide the full range of administrative and supervisory duties to at least one subordinate MSA supervisor or team leader in a patient support setting which includes assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation of awards and/or advancements.
• Ability to collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate customer service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers to ensure quality/continuity of care and ensure compliance with established policies and regulations.
• Ability to provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training in a patient support setting.
• Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs.
• Advanced knowledge of managing or leading patient support staff in an inpatient setting. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.
• Plans, distributes, and balances workload among employees in accordance with priorities and established workflow, grade level (GS 3, 4, S) and the capabilities of the employees. Sets and adjusts short- and long-term priorities. Assures timely accomplishment of the workload. Promotes team building.
• Performs a variety of administrative functions which includes management of program/unit day-to-day operations and assisting with contingency plans, assuring coverage of all areas of responsibility, conducting ongoing reviews to ensure quality of work, ensuring timely and accurate scheduling of appointments, providing guidance to staff members to include changes in policies and procedures, distributing and balancing workload.
• Ability to provide staff development and training. Observes workers' performance and conducts regular work performance evaluations/audits.
• Possesses knowledge of VHA Directives, Facility Policies and Standards of Practice, and Department/Program Policies and Standards of Practice as it relates to management of the medical record, computer entries related to physician orders and computer entries related to patient movements. Applies this knowledge to program/unit operational activities.
• Maintains records and statistical data as requested for the purpose of ensuring timeliness, accuracy and quality of inpatient MSA work. Collects and compiles information as needed, provides reports and feedback to inpatient MSA staff.
• Possesses knowledge of quality assurance/performance improvement and system redesign principles. Conducts routine audits as related to inpatient MSA work. Creates and implements ways to eliminate or reduce significant bottlenecks and barriers to efficiencies.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full-time, hours will be negotiable between days and evenings Monday - Friday
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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 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:

• Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Experience. No experience required.
• 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
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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:

Supervisory Medical Support Assistant, GS-7

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements outlined above, candidates must possess the required specialized experience and be able to demonstrate all Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) as summarized below.GS-6: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level, Examples of experience may include:

• Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines.
• Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect, ensuring compliance with established policies and regulations.
• Ability to provide staff development and training.
• Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage priorities, and coordinate with staff in the unit in order to complete duties in an accurate and timely manner. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work.
• Ability to review and monitor data to ensure all reports are complete and accurate.

AND

Candidates must demonstrate ALL of the GS-7 KSAs below:

• Ability to provide the full range of administrative and supervisory duties in a patient support setting, which includes assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation of awards and/or advancements.
• Ability to collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate customer service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers to ensure quality/continuity of care and ensure compliance with established policies and regulations.
• Ability to provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training related to administrative functions in a patient support setting.
• Ability to delegate authority, evaluate and oversee people and programs, accomplish program goals, and adapt to changing priorities.

Assignment. Supervisory MSAs at this level plan and direct programs at medical centers and/or satellite outpatient clinics. They have full responsibility for supervising at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a non-VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving complex problems to ensure patient services are met; evaluating new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improved operations; identifying educational or training needs; making final decisions on hiring selections; evaluating performance, and taking disciplinary action when necessary. The employee has administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the subordinate lead, supervisor, and MSA's activities. Responsible for extracting and analyzing data to provide reports to senior management in support of tracking measures. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) 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.

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-7.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, however, there may be some walking, standing, bending and transporting items under 20 pounds. Works extensively in the hospital computer system.

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.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.

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
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

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
• **Highly Recommend** Write to the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) on a separate document - KSAs are found under qualification/grade requirements in the announcement.
• Resume/CV exceeding two-pages
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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