Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 27,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee seeks an entry-level health administration assistant. The role supports patient care through scheduling, patient communication, and documentation within hospital administration.

Basic requirements include US citizenship and English proficiency; education options include a high school diploma or equivalent. The position offers progression from GS-3 to GS-5 with standard VA benefits.

Qualifications

• Experience: No experience required.
• Education: Must possess a High School Diploma, GED equivalency or proficiency certificate.
• May qualify via Grandfathering provisions for current VA employees.

Responsibilities

• Meet, communicate, and interact courteously with patients and care team members.
• Use office automation equipment and scheduling systems to support patient care.
• Record patient messages and relay physician requests for follow-up care.
• Operate scheduling and administrative tasks per VHA guidelines.

Skills

Communication skills

Customer service

Medical terminology knowledge

Ability to handle PII

Education

High School Diploma

GED equivalency

Proficiency certificate

Tools

Office automation software

Web-based scheduling programs

Insurance collection system

Scanning software

Multi-line phone systems

Electronic faxing programs

Job description

This position is located at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in in Health Administration. 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 the VA policy.

English: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English.

Education/Experience

• Experience. No experience required.
• 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.

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 Requirements: In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the grade requirement:

GS-3

Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-4

Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

Education. One (1) year of education above high school.

AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

• 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.
• 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.

GS-5 Experience

One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level. Experience at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve VA Handbook 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 in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system; obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

OR

Education:

Two years of education above high school;

AND, Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• 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.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• 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.
• Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution

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-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5.

Physical Requirements

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.