Advanced Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 52,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Portland VA Medical Center is seeking qualified applicants for Advanced Medical Support Assistant positions at the Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA campuses. The role supports coordination of care across clinics, scheduling, and patient communications.

Candidates must meet basic requirements including U.S. citizenship, English proficiency, and education or equivalent verification.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent or approved alternative verification.
• One year of specialized experience at GS-5 level in an advanced or complex clinical setting.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate scheduling across multiple clinics and ensure patient care is coordinated across teams.
• Collaborate with a wide range of medical clinicians to achieve care delivery goals.
• Communicate with internal and external customers via reports, in writing, and in person.
• Apply knowledge of health care processes and policies to support patient access and flow.
• Support administrative functions related to appointment cycles, referrals, and follow-up care.
• Use medical terminology appropriately in communications and documentation.

Skills

Collaborate across disciplines

Prioritize & manage time

Effective communication

Knowledge of care access processes

Patient care coordination

Medical terminology

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

College transcript (official)

Job description

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. 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.