Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Maywood (IL); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Department of Veterans Affairs Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Maywood, IL seeks an administrative support professional to assist Veterans in the Primary Service Area. The role emphasizes accurate message recording, scheduling, and coordinating patient care with clinics, utilizing office automation tools and respectful communication.

Basic requirements include U.S. citizenship, English proficiency, and a high school diploma or equivalent.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED or state/provincial proficiency certificate.
• MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Ability to use office automation equipment and software.

Skills

Medical terminology

Message taking

Office automation

Communication with diverse patients

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Scheduling software

Electronic faxing programs

Job description

This position provides administrative support services to Veterans residing in the Primary Service Area of the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital. The Edward Hines Jr. VA is a 1A complex facility.

The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship: Citizen of the United States.
• English Language Proficiency: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English
• Education: Must possess a High School Diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

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

GS-3 Grade Requirements:

• Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-4 Grade Requirements:

• Experience or Education: Must have one of the following:
• Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
• Education: One year of education above high school.
• AND
• GS-4 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following 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, webbased scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.

GS-5 Grade Requirements:

• Experience or Education: Must have one of the following:
• Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; OR
• Education: Two years of education above high school.
• AND
• GS-5 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following 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.

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

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting. There may be some walking, standing twisting, turning, sitting, pushing, bending, repetitive keyboarding, or carrying of light items. Some positions may require sitting for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while talking on a telephone headset.