Advanced Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Astoria (OR); On-site; USD 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

The Portland, OR VA Healthcare System is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to support patients across Astoria, Fairview, and West Linn clinics. The role emphasizes coordinating care, scheduling, and team communication in a complex clinical setting.

Candidates must meet education and specialized experience requirements, be a US citizen, and demonstrate English proficiency. The position details reference VA Handbook 5005/117 and GS-679, with the full performance level GS-6.

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience in an advanced/complex clinical setting.
• GS-6 level requires specialized experience; education cannot substitute.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with medical clinicians across disciplines to meet care goals.
• Independently prioritize and organize work to meet deadlines.
• Communicate effectively with internal and external customers in writing, phone, and in person.
• Apply advanced knowledge of health care processes affecting access to care.
• Navigate policies for interdisciplinary care delivery and patient flow.
• Understand medical terminology used by clinicians.

Skills

Collaboration

Prioritization

Communication

Access to care

Care coordination

Medical terminology

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Job description

The Portland, OR VA Healthcare System is looking to fill one Advanced Medical Support Assistant positions at the Astoria, OR Community Based Outpatient Clinic, Fairview, OR Community Based Outpatient Clinics, West Linn, OR Community Based Outpatient Clinics.

The list generated from this announcement can be used up to 90 days to fill any additional vacancies that may arise. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement

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 Proficient.
• Education: 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)
  • 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 verification of the education requirement if not covered under the grandfathering provision.

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)

Specialized Experience:

one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS5 grade level) in an advanced or complex clinical setting utilizing numerous advanced patient care systems, scheduling appointments across multiple clinics and coordination of services among a diverse team of medical providers and clinics to include outside agencies, advanced knowledge of medical terminology, advanced knowledge of the technical health care processes, policy and procedures as it relates to coordination of care.

At the GS -6 grade level education cannot be used as a substitution for the above specialized experience.

Candidates must demonstrate the KSAs below:

• 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.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

Reference:

VA Handbook 5005/117, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard, GS-679. Published August 1, 2019 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:

The work is mostly sedentary but may require periods of standing or walking however, there are no physical requirements for the 0679 Medical Support Assistant occupation.