Intermittent Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; East Orange (NJ); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Part time

Job summary

The VA New Jersey Healthcare System is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for an intermittent position. The role focuses on managing administrative duties for Eligibility, Emergency Room, and Specialty Patient Aligned Care Team to ensure smooth clinic operations.

The incumbent will coordinate scheduling, communicate with patients and care teams, and maintain documentation across the patient care process, ensuring timely access to services and accurate records within the VA system.

Qualifications

• United States citizenship required or eligible under VA policy.
• Education: high school diploma or GED or equivalent.
• Proficient in spoken and written English per VA standards.
• Experience: one year at GS-5 level equivalent for Advanced MSA option.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate clinic utilization and monitor clinic setup to support care delivery.
• Communicate with patients, interdisciplinary teams, VA centers, and external agencies.
• Handle communications with staff inside and outside the facility.
• Communicate with non-VA medical facilities and manage secure messages.
• Notify patients of test results and manage follow-up care tracking.
• Participate in team huddles and meetings to plan patient care.
• Set priorities, meet deadlines, and input information into electronic records.

Skills

English proficiency

Communication

Scheduling

Medical terminology

Team coordination

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

The VA New Jersey Healthcare System is recruiting an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for an intermittent position. The incumbent is solely responsible for management of the Administrative duties for the Eligibility - Emergency Room - and Specialty Patient Aligned Care Team.

Summary

The VA New Jersey Healthcare System is recruiting an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for an intermittent position. The incumbent is solely responsible for management of the Administrative duties for the Eligibility - Emergency Room - and Specialty Patient Aligned Care Team.

Qualifications

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
• Experience
• None Education
• High school diploma - General Education Development equivalency certificate - or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education
• English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C.
• 7403(f)
• Licensure/Certification/Registration
• None 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)
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements - candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at the grade level specified
• Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) - GS-06
• Experience: Must have one (1) year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level - performing duties including but not limited to: independently perform a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting
• Scheduling - canceling - re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults
• 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
• AND
• Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs)
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 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
• 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
• 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: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
  

Duties

• The Advanced MSA coordinates with team members to review clinic utilization and ensures that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic - making necessary adjustments as needed
• S/he develops/maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient - interdisciplinary team - VA medical centers - and other agencies
• S/he may be tasked with assisting with communications with staff inside and outside the facility
• communicating with non-VA medical facilities
• processing secure messaging requests from the patient to the team
• notifying patients of normal lab results
• developing and managing 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 share 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
• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Intermittent Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: PD21W72A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized