LEAD MEDICAL SUPPORT ASSISTANT

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; West Haven (CT); On-site; USD 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Lead Medical Support Assistant to manage patient scheduling and support clinical operations in the West Haven VA Medical Center. This full-time role requires advanced knowledge of medical terminology and the ability to coordinate workflow effectively across various clinical disciplines. The position offers a unique opportunity to work within a collaborative care team, ensuring patients receive the best quality care.

Qualifications

• Six months of clerical or administrative experience.
• Proficient in spoken and written English.
• Ability to manage workflow priorities and adjust accordingly.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates scheduling of patient care and clinical programs.
• Works closely with interdisciplinary care teams.
• Responsible for complex administrative tasks, including training support staff.

Skills

Communication

Organizational Skills

Team Coordination

Advanced knowledge of medical terminology

Education

One year above high school

Job description

This Lead Medical Support Assistant position is located at the West Haven, CT. VA Medical Center. This position is a full-time position at 40 hours per week.




Duties

VA Careers - Lead Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/UJO_XH5uCLs

The incumbent serves as the Lead Medical Support Assistant (Lead MSA), for Outpatient Clinical Support in the VA Medical Center.
The Lead MSA uses initiative in completing recurring assignments independently and without specific instructions, but refers deviations, problems and unfamiliar situations to the supervisor for assistance.
Work is performed collaboratively in a Interdisciplinary Coordinate Care delivery model (Patient Aligned Care Team, or Specialty Care Setting). The employee works closely with the staff in the inpatient and outpatient clinic areas to ensure the direct activities related to the day to day care of patients is maintained.
The incumbents working knowledge of various policies and procedures relating to the business rules regarding Scheduling, Clinical Access and the proper flow of work within the team contributes significantly to the daily business activities.

The Lead MSA performs a variety of administrative functions associated with the scheduling of patient care for the clinical programs at VA Medical Center, to include:

Requirements

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 and Education:
  • Experience: Six months experience of clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position; OR
  • Education: One year above high school; OR
  • Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
• English Language Proficiency: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3j.

GS-7 Lead MSA

• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level. Examples of qualifying experience include the following:
  • Collaborates and communicates 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;
  • Independently sets priorities and organizes work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations;
  • Communicates 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;
  • 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.; and
  • Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
• Assignment: The Lead MSA is responsible for the coordination of Advanced MSA assignments and workflow found in an interdisciplinary unit. The Lead MSA is responsible for daily workload assessments, assigning work, and assuring proper staffing coverage; evaluating training records; and determining training needs of MSAs to provide support across interdisciplinary settings. The Lead assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments; providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures; creating and maintaining employee work schedules; and acting as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, patients, and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
  • 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 resources;
  • Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting;
  • Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines;
  • Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff;
  • Ability to provide staff development and training; and
  • 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.

• Preferred Experience: Prior Advanced Medical Support Assistant experience and Leadership experience.
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
• This vacancy announcement will be filled above the full performance level.
• Physical Requirements: Work is performed in an adequately lighted and climate controlled office. Incumbent must work in a multi-screen computer environment being able to use VistA, CPRS and BMS screens bilaterally. Work is mostly sedentary but may require some standing, walking, bending, twisting and stair climbing.