Advanced Medical Support Assistant

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, seeks a Medical Support Assistant (GS-6) to provide administrative support in the Health Administration Department.

This role involves greeting patients, scheduling appointments, updating records, and coordinating with clinical staff to ensure timely patient care across services. The position emphasizes strong communication, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple tasks in a

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED or equivalent
• Excellent customer service and phone skills
• Coordinate scheduling and patient flow across clinic teams

Responsibilities

• Notifications: establish and maintain standing eligibility lists and refer eligible candidates
• Establish patient records and scan into the EMR
• Coordinate and schedule labs and related patient care actions
• Interpret and verify provider orders and ensure administrative actions
• Monitor inpatient and outpatient appointments across areas of responsibility
• Verify and update patient demographics and insurance information
• Enter work orders for assigned areas
• Maintain adequate office supplies
• Provide follow-up calls to remind and reschedule appointments
• Support clinic access contingency planning and adjust appointments as needed
• Participate in team huddles and problem-solve operational issues
• Update information in insurance capture buffers and coordinate with other VA facilities

Skills

Team collaboration

Prioritization

Communication

Medical terminology

Interdisciplinary care

Education

High School Diploma

Job description

This position is located at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center - Milwaukee - Wisconsin - in the Health Administration Department. Incumbent will normally work in their assigned area but could be required to work in other locations as necessary and as qualified by past training.

Qualifications

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English. Education/Experience: Experience. No experience required. Education: Must possess a High School Diploma - General Education Development equivalency certificate - or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education. 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).

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE

Basic Requirements

• LISTED ABOVE - YOU MUST MEET THE GRADE REQUIREMENTS AT THE GS-6 LEVEL TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION
• GS-6 LEVEL GRADE REQUIREMENTS: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Must have one (1) year of experience that is directly related to the duties of a MSA and that equips you with the particular knowledge - skills - and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position
• To be creditable - this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level - GS-5 - and demonstrate the knowledge - skills - and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities
• Experience at this level includes - but is not limited to: Advising clinical staff on current administrative processes
• Answering phones - greeting patients - relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit - scheduling - canceling - re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• 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.)
• AND KNOWLEDGE - SKILLS - AND ABILITIES: You also must demonstrate the following KSAs: KSA-1
• Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met
• KSA-2
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines - ensuring compliance with established processes - policies - and regulations
• KSA-3
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively - electronically - by phone - in person - and in writing
• This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels - as well as resolving patient concerns
• KSA-4
• 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
• KSA-5
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect the patient flow - and patient support care to include - but not limited to appointment cycles - outside patient referrals - follow-up care - overbooking - provider availability - etc
• KSA-6
• 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: The work is primarily sedentary
• Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting
• There may be some walking - standing twisting - turning - sitting - pushing - bending - repetitive keyboarding - or carrying of light items
• Some positions may require sitting for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while talking on a telephone headset.

Duties

• Notifications: THIS OPEN & CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT (OCA) ESTABLISHES A STANDING REGISTER OF ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS - which closes on 09/30/2026
• The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be on or about September 1 - 2026 with subsequent reviews every other week as additional vacancies occur - or on an as-needed basis - until positions are filled
• Please see the "What To Expect Next" area of the announcement which provides additional information on the referral process for this type of announcement
• Due to a critical staffing shortage - 38 U.S.C.
• 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference for this job announcement
• VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo Participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care
• Establish patient records - and/or routing patient records accurately and appropriately to be scanned into the patient's electronic medical records via the file room
• Coordinate and schedule labs - test and actions related to patient care and services
• interpreting and verifying provider orders and demonstrating complete established administrative action for each order
• Monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility - monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedures
• Verifying and updating patient demographics
• entering work orders for their assigned areas
• Maintaining adequate and appropriate levels of office supplies
• Provide follow-up calls to patients to remind them of appointments and to reschedule when clinic is cancelled
• Administrative follow-up and problem solving for administrative issues
• Confirms patients are ready for clinic appointments by providing prep material and/or instructions prior to appointment date
• Assists with clinic access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times location - or dates as well as shift patients to other healthcare providers as conflict with staffing and/or coverage occurs
• Participate and provide 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
• Responsible for updating information in the insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system
• Obtaining medical information from patients - other VA's - and/or private sector medical centers
• Coordinating information and actions related to patient care services
• Scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines - calling for Code 4 or rapid response - following established procedures regarding both
• Coordinates administrative services for veterans - family members - caregivers - and general public - administrative and clinical staff to insure continuity of inpatient and outpatient care
• Develops and maintains effective working relationships with all clinical and administrative staff in determining priorities of activities in support of direct patient care
• Interprets and applies a complex body of pertinent laws - regulations - directives - and policies that relate to the administration of VA Healthcare Benefits
• Performs receptionist duties - customer service and other duties assigned for the proper and timely treatment of patients and maintains appointment schedules for one or more clinics
• Work Schedule: A variety of work schedules are available
• Work schedule will be determined upon selection
• NOTE: May be expected to work rotating weekends and holidays
• Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
• Telework: Not Available
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: Varies Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
• PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized.