Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Asheville (NC); On-site; USD 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

The Charles George Medical Center is currently recruiting for multiple Medical Support Assistants within the Health Administration Services. These positions require U.S.

citizenship, a high school diploma or GED, English proficiency, and two years of education beyond high school for advancement to higher grades. The Medical Support Assistant GS-05 role emphasizes scheduling, patient interaction, and data handling within VA health systems.

Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology sufficient to understand medical diagnosis and procedures.
• Customer service skills to identify concerns and refer to staff as needed.
• Ability to operate computerized systems to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive information in electronic health records and scheduling systems.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently on a wide variety of duties.
• Ability to communicate effectively with internal and external customers.

Skills

Medical terminology

Customer service

EHR data entry

Appointment scheduling

Independent work

Professional communication

Education

High school diploma / GED

Two years of education beyond high school

Job description

The Charles George Medical Center is currently recruiting for multiple Medical Support Assistants within the Health Administration Services.

Basic Requirements:

• United States 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. None
• 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).

Grade Requirements: In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the following grade requirements.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-05

Experience or Education.

• (a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; Examples of specialized experience at the GS-4 level. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve VA Handbook complaints; interacting with both internal and external customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance and updating information in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system; obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. MSAs at this level refer all questions regarding medical attention to the appropriate health care team member.

• (b) Education. Two years of education above high school.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
• Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.

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-05.

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands of this position typically are somewhat sedentary. The position requires the employee to be occasionally mobile; periods of daily walking are occasional and require the employee to walk long/intermediate/short distances that can include pushing and/or pulling a 4-wheeled basket or industrial-type cart with a collective weight up to 60-100 pounds. It's a position that requires occasional moderate lifting of 35 pounds or less. When the employee isn't mobile, they will be sitting at a workstation. The position requires the employee to sometimes bend at the waist or stoop down, or to stretch, and to sometimes stand for long/moderate/short periods of time.