Advanced Medical Support Assistant

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Federal health insurance

Job summary

Portland VA Medical Center seeks Advanced Medical Support Assistants for Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA campuses. AMSAs provide administrative support to clinical teams and Veterans, handling enrollment, scheduling, and communication across departments to ensure timely care.

Responsibilities include eligibility determination, data entry, and preparing reports, with typical work hours Monday–Friday, 8:00am–4:30pm. VA benefits include phased pay increases and comprehensive federal benefits.

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• English language proficient.
• Education: High school diploma or equivalent as listed inBasic Requirements.
• Specialized experience: one year at GS-5 level or equivalent in an advanced/complex clinical setting.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support to clinical staff and Veteran patients.
• Determine health care eligibility for Veteran patients.
• Process enrollment, benefits, and registration for Veterans.
• Schedule appointments, including cancellations and re-scheduling.
• Coordinate communication between Veterans and facility departments.
• Enter physician orders and consult requests; manage patient records and data.

Skills

Team collaboration

Communication skills

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Job description

Summary

Portland VA Medical center is looking to fill many Advanced Medical Support Assistant positions at their Portland - OR and Vancouver - WA campuses. The list generated from this announcement can be used up to 90 days to fill any additional vacancies that may arise.

Summary

Portland VA Medical center is looking to fill many Advanced Medical Support Assistant positions at their Portland - OR and Vancouver - WA campuses. The list generated from this announcement can be used up to 90 days to fill any additional vacancies that may arise.

Qualifications

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 one of the following as 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: 1
• 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
• 2
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines - ensuring compliance with established processes - policies - and regulations
• 3
• 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
• 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
• 5
• 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
• 6
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians
• References: VA Handbook 5005/117 - Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard - GS-679
• Published May 7 - 2026
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS 6
• 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.

Duties

• Advanced Medical Support Assistants provide administrative support to our clinical colleagues in the care of our Nation's Veterans
• Our mission is to provide efficient and effective healthcare services by promoting and enabling the delivery of timely - accurate - accessible health care
• VA is committed to cultivating a dedicated workforce of highly skilled employees who understand - believe in and take pride in VA's mission
• AMSAs are essential to the success of this mission and may be assigned to any department/service line of the medical center that have a need
• Duties will include but are not limited to: - Determining health care eligibility for Veteran patients
• - Administrative processing of Veteran patients in enrollment - benefits - and registration
• - Counseling Veteran patients regarding entitlement enrollment for health care benefits and other special programs
• - Obtaining essential information and documentation from Veteran patients for enrollment activities
• - Performing scheduling functions for Veteran patients including appointments - cancellations - and re-scheduling
• - Facilitating communication between Veterans and other facility consult departments
• - Support of inpatient units and wards with administrative duties during day - evening - night - and weekend shifts
• - Processing and record keeping of inpatient medical records
• - Manual and electronic data entry
• - Collation of statistical information
• - Entry of Physician orders and consult requests
• - Prepares Veteran patient statistics
• - Providing reception to incoming and outgoing customers and communication
• - Utilizes Microsoft Office software to compile data and formulate reports Work Schedule: Typical tour of duty is Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:30pm - hour will be discussed as part of the interview process
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior federal work experience or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized