Advanced Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Jacksonville (NC); On-site; USD 46,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a GS-6 Advanced Medical Support Assistant to provide specialized administrative patient support within an interdisciplinary care delivery model.

You will coordinate clinic utilization, review schedules, and maintain clear communication with the patient care team across clinics and community resources. The role requires basic federal qualifications, English proficiency, and either six months of clerical experience or one year of education beyond

Qualifications

• United States Citizenship required.
• English Language Proficiency: must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Experience: Six months clerical/office work demonstrating ability to acquire necessary knowledge and skills.
• Education: One year above high school.
• Experience/Education Combination: equivalent combination is acceptable for entry level.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate clinic utilization and monitor clinic setup to support patient care.
• Maintain effective communication with patients, interdisciplinary teams, VA medical centers, and external facilities.
• Enter and verify data in the electronic record; assist with problem solving on operational issues in team meetings.
• Support management information components of health eligibility programs and participate in team huddles to plan patient care.

Skills

English proficiency

Communication skills

Prioritization

Organizational skills

Education

One year above high school

Job description

The Advanced MSA, provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources.

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.
• 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 3j.
• Experience and Education:
  • Experience: Six months experience of clerical, office or other 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.

Grade Determinations

GS-6 Advanced Medical Support Assistant.

Experience

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

Assignment

The Advanced MSA coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports(e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary), ensure that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments. They develop/maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team; notify patients of normal lab results; develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.). Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; may work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record; monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work); managing electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings, performing administrative follow up actions; participating in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care; evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested; educating providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and bringing to the attention of the provider. Serve as/advisors and experts to the Section Chiefs and support the management information components of all health eligibility related programs. This includes not only entering data and information when necessary, but also reviewing reports, records and statistical computations for accuracy and propriety. Local input is compared with the Health Eligibility Center (HEC) in Atlanta, GA and also will affect data entry for encounter entries that go to Austin for workload credit. 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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Candidates must demonstrate the KSAs below:Ability to collaborate, communicate, set priorities, and organize the work in order to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, both orally and in writing, in order to meet program objectives. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels.Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process as it relates to access to care.Advanced knowledge of managing a clinic. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with operational activities that affect the patient flow, patient care, and the revenue process.Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

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.

Physical Requirements

Work is generally sedentary in nature with some walking, standing and bending. Occasionally requires moderate physical activity, e.g. carrying light items such as books and papers, or lifting boxes or records.