Medical Support Assistant

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Federal health insurance

Paid time off

Parental leave

Retirement benefits

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is seeking a Medical Support Assistant within Health Administration.

The role focuses on scheduling, patient coordination, and handling routine office tasks to support patient care. Applicants must meet basic qualifications for GS-3/4/5 levels, including English proficiency and high school diploma; some positions require education or experience.

Qualifications

• Basic ability to interact with patients and healthcare staff.
• English proficiency for written and spoken communication.
• Understanding of medical terminology and patient care basics.

Responsibilities

• Schedule appointments accurately and timely.
• Coordinate patient care and assist in training other staff.
• Assist in training other MSA levels and ensure scheduling directives are followed.
• Provide support in patient message handling and physician requests.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Medical terminology

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Tools

Scheduling software

Electronic health records basics

Job description

Summary

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

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
• 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
• 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
• OR Education
• One (1) year of education above high school
• AND Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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: Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service

Duties

• VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo1Oiz4 Incumbent must be able to interpret and communicate requirements of VHA Scheduling Directives and complete accurate scheduling responsibilities and assist in training other MSA levels as follow - Schedule appointments accurately and timely
• All appointments will be made with the patient's input
• -This may require a high level of coordination to avoid patients having to make multiple trips to the medical center or clinic whenever possible
• - Notifies his/her supervisor if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes - Timely review of active/pending consults for accuracy and disposition
• 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) Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday
• 08:00 am - 4:00pm Telework: Ad hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #:09275F - 09276F - 00926F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized