Advanced Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Astoria (OR); On-site; USD 40,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

The incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant in a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) of the Primary Care Division, at the VA Portland Health Care System.

The incumbent performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information, and interfaces with PC applications as well as Vista applications.

Qualifications

• High school diploma, GED, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

Responsibilities

• Receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information.
• Interface with PC applications and Vista applications.

Skills

Advanced health care process knowledge

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Prioritization and organization

Effective communication

Education

High school diploma / GED

Job description

The incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant in a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) of the Primary Care Division, at the VA Portland Health Care System.

The incumbent performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information.

The incumbent will interface with personal computer (PC) applications as well as numerous Vista applications.

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. 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, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply:
• (1) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
• (2) Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
• NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/ placements.
• 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.
• Physical 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).

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. (1) Experience

One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

(2) Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (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.

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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-6 to GS-6.