Medical Support Assistant

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Iron Mountain (MI); On-site; USD 32,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center seeks a Medical Support Assistant to perform telephone support, mail handling, and document scanning. The role supports patient care and clinic operations in the VA Community Care Department.

This entry-level position may permit referral if educational or licensure requirements are not yet complete, with full performance expectations at GS-5.

Qualifications

• Ability to meet and interact with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist patient care.
• Familiarity with office automation and scheduling systems.
• Ability to record messages and follow physician requests accurately.

Responsibilities

• Provide telephone support and handle inquiries related to patient care.
• Scan and route documents; receive and process mail.
• Coordinate information and actions to facilitate patient services.
• Support clerical tasks and maintain administrative records.

Skills

Communication skills

Interpersonal abilities

Telephone systems

Medical terminology

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

The incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) in the VA Community Care Department at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center. The MSA is responsible for a range of duties related to telephone support and management, scanning, and receiving and processing of all mail. 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.
• CITIZENSHIP: Citizen of the United States.
• ENGLISH: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• EXPERIENCE: No experience required.
• EDUCATION: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

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).

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE, YOU MUST MEET THE GRADE REQUIREMENTS AT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING GRADE LEVELS TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION.

Grade Determinations

GS-3 - This is an entry level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision.

GS-4 - This is a developmental level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level receive minor and less frequent guidance from higher experienced staff members for more difficult tasks.

Experience: One year of creditable experience that equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position and that is equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-3)

OR Education: One year of education above high school. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED).

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• 1. 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.
• 2. 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.
• 3. Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
• 4. Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

GS-5 - This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level, the MSA is expected to independently perform a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting.

Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level that equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. At this grade level, experience consists of: interacting with internal and external customers; establishing and maintaining medical outpatient and inpatient charts as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance and updating insurance information in automated systems; obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointments

OR

Education: Two years of education above high school. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED).

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS03 to GS05.

Reference

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.