Lead Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration; Johnson City (TN); On-site; USD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

The Lead Medical Support Assistant (Lead MSA) in the VA's Business Office Inpatient Care Section supports an interprofessional healthcare team across multiple clinics, routing clinical questions and ensuring first-contact resolution.

This GS-7 role emphasizes advanced medical terminology knowledge, effective communication, and ability to manage patient systems and clinic schedules, with grandfathering provisions for current VA employees.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• No experience required.
• Proficient in spoken and written English.
• May qualify under Grandfathering Provision for current VA employees.

Responsibilities

• Utilizes advanced patient systems across multiple clinics.
• Coordinates with the patient care team to monitor clinic availability.
• Routes clinical questions to appropriate staff.
• Maintains accurate electronic records and pre-visit requirements.
• Supports team in planning, prioritizing, and problem solving.

Skills

Advanced medical terminology

Interdisciplinary team coordination

Communication with care team

Organize work and prioritization

Staff development and training

Staffing management and workflow

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

The incumbent serves as Lead Medical Support Assistant (Lead MSA) in the Business Office Inpatient Care Section as part of an interprofessional healthcare team. Lead MSA provides support across multiple ancillary and interprofessional clinics and determines the needs of the Veteran/caregiver. The lead MSA plays an integral role in achieving first-contact resolution through Veteran-centered delivery of care and is responsible for routing clinical questions to appropriate clinical staff. 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

• Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Experience. No experience required.
• Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Licensure/Certification/Registration. None
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• 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).

Lead Medical Support Assistant, GS-7

Grade Determination

• Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level. Examples of duties include, but are not limited to: Utilizes numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model; Coordinates with patient care team to review clinic appointment availability to ensure the clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics and makes necessary adjustments, maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient and various care providers; processes incoming patient secure messaging through online healthcare portals and coordinates with care team as appropriate; participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers; as needed; assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions; enters appropriate information into the electronic record; monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure; manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; informs team members about shared patients.

AND, Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

1. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community.
2. Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.
3. Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting.
4. Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines.
5. Ability to provide staff development and training.
6. Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.

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).

Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Medical Support Assistant" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

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-7.

Physical Requirements: Typically, the Lead Medical Support Assistant must be able to operate a computer terminal and be able to manage multiple activities at one time. The Lead MSA monitors and makes work assignments, provides input on performance, resolves daily workplace issues and maintains efficient workflow. Work is generally sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items. Work Environment: The work may be stressful due to the accelerated pace for several hours at a time during peak clinic hours or on days that have a large volume of clinic activity.