Medical Support Assistant

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Grand Junction (CO); On-site; USD 41,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks Medical Support Assistants to manage patient scheduling and information flow. You will work with clinical staff to coordinate appointments, verify data, and support patient care within the VA system.

The role requires a high school diploma or equivalent, proficiency in English, and the ability to operate various office and medical data systems. This is a full-time, on-site position with standard federal benefits and scheduling guidelines.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of medical terminology to assist in patient care
• Strong customer service and communication skills
• Ability to enter, modify and retrieve sensitive health information in EHR systems

Responsibilities

• Schedule and reschedule appointments for patients
• Answer telephone calls, greet patients and relay messages
• Review and document medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records
• Coordinate information and actions related to patient care and services

Skills

Medical terminology knowledge

Customer service

Data entry / EHR systems

Scheduling and coordination

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Job description

Summary

• The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information - refer to Required Documents below.** Performs duties related to the receipt - intake and indexing of health and administrative information. MSA's will interface with personal computer applications as well as numerous Vista applications. The MSA is responsible for scheduling appointments - including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

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: None Education: High school diploma - General Education Development equivalency certificate - or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education
• 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)
• Grandfathering Provision: Employees in VHA in this occupation - under a permanent - appropriate - and legal placement effective February 5 - 2026 of the qualification standard - are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held - including positive education and registration/certification where applicable
• For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed - the following provisions apply: Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard
• Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the Basic Requirements listed above - the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of the candidates: Medical Support Assistant - GS-3 Experience or Education
• None beyond the basic requirements
• Medical Support Assistant - GS-4 Experience
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-3 level
• (Applying general rules and policies relating to clinic functions - staff - and automated data processing methods in support of treatment to patients
• utilize a variety of patient data systems in scheduling patients for treatment and annotate patient records
• perform front desk duties - receive telephone call - and visitors to the unit
• make and cancel appointments - review patient records for necessary information - and review patient demographics and insurance verification
• consult with clinic staff when processing physician scheduling and administrative orders.) OR Education
• One year of education above high school
• AND In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the following Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs): 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
• 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
• Medical Support Assistant - GS-5 Experience
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-4 level
• (Scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment
• interviewing patients for appointments
• referring patients to other medical specialty clinics
• providing information to patients necessary to resolve 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
• obtaining medical information from patients
• coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services
• and scheduling appointments in accordance with scheduling guidelines.) OR Education
• Two years of education above high school
• AND In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the following Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (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
• Preferred Experience: N/A 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-03
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-05
• Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary
• While working in the nursing units or ED - physical demands include walking - getting up and down from sitting to retrieve various items and carrying items such as papers - folders - belongings - etc
• Crouching and bending is required to file documents and attend to supply needs
• Although constant demands - such as continually ringing telephones and continual work interruptions by staff and patients - sometimes make it very difficult for the medical support assistant to leave the work area for even a short period of time
• No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

Duties

• IMPORTANT NOTICE: This is an open continuous announcement until September 30 - 2026
• Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available
• This announcement may close without advanced notice
• The MSA is responsible for scheduling and rescheduling appointments - referring patients to other medical specialty clinics - providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints - interactions with both internal and external customers - reviewing and documenting clinical and administrative electronic health records (EHR)
• obtaining medical information from patients - coordination information and actions related to patient care and services
• and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• MSA refers all questions regarding medical attention to the appropriate health care member
• Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes
• Responsible for answering telephone calls - secure messaging - and chat messages - greeting patients - relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the facility
• Performs duties as assigned to ensure efficient and effective operations
• Work Schedule: Full time
• Work schedule will be determine upon selection
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 52691A / 52692A / 52693A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized