Medical Support Assistant

VA Detroit; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Washington, DC is seeking a Medical Support Assistant to enhance patient care through effective scheduling and administrative support. The role requires excellent customer service skills and proficiency in data entry. Ideal candidates will have experience in a clinical setting and be able to communicate effectively with patients and staff. This position is integral to ensuring smooth operations within the Radiology Service.

Qualifications

• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Six months experience in clerical or administrative work.

Responsibilities

• Schedule, cancel, and re-schedule patient appointments.
• Serve as the initial point of contact for patients.
• Verify and update patient demographics and insurance information.

Skills

Customer Service

Communication

Data Entry

Education

High School Diploma

Job description

Summary

The incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant assigned to the Radiology Service. (Washington, DCVAMC). The incumbent's work impacts the administrative aspect of patient care, including access, answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with national scheduling guidelines.

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Duties

Duties

• schedule, cancel, re-schedule patient appointments and or consults.
• Enter no-show information and monitor appointment requests from multiple electronic sources.
• Participate in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic.
• Monitor both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility.
• Verify and update demographics and insurance information when patient's check-in for appointments.
• Coordinate administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment t-type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.)
• Serve as an initial point of contact for the units, clinics, patient, call centers, to include, but not limited to, scheduling patient appointments, tracking, reviewing, and responding to electronic orders, consults, and other elements in the electronic medical record and medical systems.
• Utilize practical knowledge of computerized data entry, information processing systems and software related to patient care, Washington DCVA and Radiology services, basic rules and regulations governing visitors and patient treatment.
• Apply, knowledge of standard procedures, utilizing medical records, and medical terminology.
• The incumbent plays an integral role in identifying and developing ways to resolve problems with the administrative and clinical staff on access, customer service, patient flow, revenue, and data validation issues.
• A large part of the duties is acting as a receptionist at any of radiology clinics, either face-to face or telephonically, requiring excellent customer service skills.
  
  

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm

Telework: Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #:

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

RESUME REQUIREMENTS - Your resume MUST include the following information:

• Job Title (for each position)
• Description of duties (be as detailed as possible)
• Month and year start/end dates (e.g. June 2018 to April 2020) of employment
• Full-time or part-time status (include average hours worked per week)
• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
  
  

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.

Experience: Six months experience of clerical, office, [customer service], or other [administrative] work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position;

OR

Education: One year above high school;

OR,

Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

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 05 Requirements

Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the [GS-4] grade level;

OR,

Education: Four years of education above high school.

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.
  
  

Preferred Experience: One year of experience in clerical, office, [customer service, or other administrative] work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is a GS-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-05.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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, frequent keyboard usage, and 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. In addition, there can be increased stress due to the intensity of a patient/customer complaint or concern.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
  
  

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• PCS Orders
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript
  
  

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.