Adv Med Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Fort Wayne (IN); On-site; USD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Indiana seeks an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to support Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) across settings, including Specialty Care and Care in the Community.

The role emphasizes front-desk and administrative duties within a VA medical facility. Candidates must meet basic federal requirements, provide proof of education, and demonstrate the ability to schedule appointments, manage patient messages, and coordinate transfers.

Qualifications

• One year of experience in clerical or administrative work related to healthcare.
• Knowledge of scheduling, patient check-in processes, and basic medical terminology.
• Ability to communicate effectively with clinical staff and patients.

Responsibilities

• Answering phones and greeting patients, relaying messages to staff.
• Scheduling appointments and coordinating patient flow within clinic settings.
• Verifying and updating patient demographics and insurance information.
• Assisting with transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals as needed.

Skills

Scheduling appointments

Phone handling

Customer service

Medical terminology

Administrative support

Message relay

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant assigned to a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model, Specialty Care setting, Care in the Community, Call Center, or any other areas where Advanced Medical Support Assistant vacancies come up at the facility.

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

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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
• Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State of territorial-level Board of Department of Education
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Licensure/Certification/Registration: None

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current permanent VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Experience

(1) Creditable Experience. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.

(2) Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience [or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting] at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and a range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

(3) Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, an MSA employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.

NOTE: Must be demonstrated on resume at time of applicant

Grade Determinations

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) GS-06

In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:

1. Experience:

You must possess one (1) full year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. This experience may include but is not limited to: independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes. The AMSA is responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider ordersin accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Assignments at this level 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; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments. Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.). NOTE: This experience must be clearly demonstrated in your resume.
**AND**

2. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA).

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all 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.

NOTE: The Specialized Experience and KSAs outlined above must be clearly demonstrated within your resume. Please do not copy or paste the Specialized Experience or KSAs verbatim into your resume. Provide specific examples and details that illustrate how you meet these requirements. Failure to do so may result in your application not being referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Documentation Requirements for Proof of High School Completion or Higher: If selected, to meet the basic requirement of high school education or equivalent and prior to a firm job offer being extended, applicants must provide one of the following as verification of the education requirement if not covered under the grandfathering provision:

• Copy of high school diploma OR high school transcript (unofficial or official) OR GED Certificate OR homeschooling completion OR proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education OR college transcript (official).

Reference: VA Handbook 5005/117 PART II APPENDIX G45. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS6.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.