Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 36,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

VA Central Iowa Health Care System in Des Moines, Iowa seeks a Medical Support Assistant to perform patient intake, indexing of health information, and interface with PC and Vista applications in Clinic, Call Center, or Inpatient settings.

Qualifications include basic education (high school diploma or GED) and the ability to communicate effectively in English; specialized KSAs are described for GS-04 and GS-05 levels. Position requires eligibility by the closing date.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in patient care.
• Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests for follow-up care.
• Ability to meet and interact with individuals from diverse backgrounds to facilitate care.
• Ability to use office automation software and systems to support patient care.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology for complex patient care as needed.
• Strong customer service skills to address concerns and refer to appropriate staff.
• Ability to operate computerized programs and enter/retrieve sensitive patient information.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently on varied patient support duties.
• Effective and professional communication with internal and external customers.

Skills

Medical terminology

Customer service

Electronic health records

Scheduling

Independence

Communication

Education

High school diploma or GED

One year of higher education

Two years of higher education

Job description

Medical Support Assistant Basic Requirements

The incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) at the VA Central Iowa Health Care System in Des Moines, Iowa. The incumbent performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information. The incumbent will interface with personal computer (PC) applications as well as numerous Vista applications. Duties may be performed in Clinic Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), Telephone Call Center, or Inpatient, Outpatient Clinic.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11:59 PM (ET) on 10/26/2026.

Citizenship

Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

Experience and Education

• Experience: None.

OR

• 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.

Foreign Education

To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

English Language Proficiency

Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Foreign Education

To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

Grade Determinations

1. Creditable Experience: To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.
2. Part-Time Experience: Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship for the full-time workweek. For example, an MSA employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.
3. Quality of Experience: Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements, candidates must possess the required specialized experience and be able to demonstrate all Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) as summarized below.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-03.

Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-04.

Experience or Education.

(a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.; OR

(b) Education. One year of education above high school.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).

(a) Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.

(b) Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

(c) 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.

(d) 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.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-05.

Experience or Education.

(a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; OR

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

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).

(a) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.

(b) Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

(c) 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.

(d) Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.

(e) Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.

(f) Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.

References

VA Qualification Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO).

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.

You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.