Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 32,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Louisville seeks a Medical Support Assistant to be the front-line contact for patients and staff, helping coordinate care and manage clerical tasks in a busy clinical setting.

Candidates must meet basic requirements (citizenship, education, and English proficiency); progression to GS-4/GS-5 requires one year of qualifying experience or education and demonstrated KSAs, including medical terminology, patient communication, and the ability to operate

Qualifications

• Basic requirements include citizenship, education and English proficiency.
• GS-4/GS-5 qualifications require one year of experience or education with KSAs such as medical terminology, patient communication and ability to use office systems.
• Demonstrated knowledge of scheduling and ability to handle patient information in accordance with privacy rules.

Skills

Medical terminology

Patient communication

Office automation

Scheduling software

Attention to detail

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

EHR systems

Electronic faxing

Scanning software

Office software

Job description

As the front-line contact for patients and staff, the MSA sets the tone for perception concerning quality of healthcare services at the VA. A high degree of tact and diplomacy is required when dealing with veterans who have multiple health problems and who may be frustrated with the administrative process associated with treatment.

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 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; OR,
  • Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
• Certification. None required.
• 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.

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 Determinations

GS-3 Medical Support Assistant

• Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-4 Medical Support Assistant

• Experience. To qualify at this level, candidates must have: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.; OR,
• Education. One year of education above high school, AND
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
  • 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.

GS-05 Medical Support Assistant (Full Performance Level)

• Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; OR,
• Education. Two years of education above high school. AND
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
  • 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.

Note:

You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Medical Support Assistant" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

Note: 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 a range of varieties.

Reference:

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS3 to GS5.

Physical Requirements:

Operate a computer terminal and be able to manage multiple activities at one time. Work is generally sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items. Work Environment: The work may be stressful due to the accelerated pace for several hours at a time during peak hours or on days that have a large volume of activity. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.