Medical Support Assistant

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Bedford (MA); On-site; USD 37,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Bedford is hiring a Medical Support Assistant. This full-time role involves providing administrative support, including patient scheduling and communication. Candidates should have experience in clerical work and demonstrate strong customer service skills, with a focus on medical terminology and office procedures.

Qualifications

• Six months clerical experience or one year above high school.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support for scheduling and communication.
• Use office automation equipment to support patient care.

Skills

Customer Service

Communication

Medical Terminology

Education

High School Diploma

Education above High School

Job description

This Medical Support Assistant position is in Business Office services at the VA Bedford Healthcare System, located at the Bedford location. This is a full-time, permanent position.

Duties

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The incumbent is responsible for a wide range of assignments and provides administrative support to increase scheduling and communication integrity. Duties include but not limited to:

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.
• 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 3.j.
• Experience and Education: 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,
  • 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.

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 Determination

GS-3: Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements.

In addition, candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals in a courteous and helpful manner in order to give instructions and arrange appointments.
• Ability to utilize computer systems to enter administrative data in patient systems.
• Ability to learn and utilize basic medical terminology to record patient messages and physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care.

GS-4: Experience: One year of experience in 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: Two years of education above high school.

In addition, candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.
• Ability to use, [and navigate between], various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e., computer systems, web-based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.
• Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
• Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

GS-05: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; OR Education: Four years of education above high school.

In addition, candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• 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.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• 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.
• Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

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-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5.

Physical Requirements: This position is in an office setting, please see VA Directive and Handbook 5019