Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; White City (OR); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Oregon seeks a Medical Support Assistant to handle receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information.

The role involves interfacing with PC applications and Vista systems, with duties across CBOC, telephone call center, or inpatient/outpatient clinics. Qualifications include a high school diploma or GED or higher, and two years of education beyond high school.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in patient care.
• Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests for follow-up care.
• Ability to interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and health care team members.
• Ability to operate office equipment and software to support patient care.

Responsibilities

• Receive, intake, and index health and administrative information.
• Interface with PC applications and Vista applications.
• Duties may be performed in Clinic Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), Telephone Call Center, or Inpatient/Outpatient Clinic.

Skills

Basic medical terminology

Record patient messages

Interpersonal communication

Office automation knowledge

Education

High school diploma or GED

Two years of education above high school

Tools

Office software

Job description

The incumbent performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information. The incumbent will interface with personal computer (PC) applications as well as numerous Vista applications. Duties may be performed in Clinic Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), Telephone Call Center, or Inpatient, Outpatient Clinic.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11:59 PM (ET) on11/09/2026.

Citizenship

Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).)

Experience and Education

• Experience: None.
• Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

Licensure/Certification/Registration

None.

Grandfathering Provision

Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply:

1. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
2. Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/placements.

Foreign Education

To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

English Language Proficiency

Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations

1. Creditable Experience: To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.
2. Part-Time Experience: Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship for the full-time workweek. For example, an MSA employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.
3. 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 range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements, candidates must possess the required specialized experience and be able to demonstrate all Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) as summarized below.

GS-3 Grade Experience or Education (Entry Level)

None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-4 Grade Experience (Developmental Level)

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 (KSAs)

1. Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
2. Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.
3. 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.
4. 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-5 Grade Experience (Full Performance Level)

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 (KSAs)

1. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
2. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
3. 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.
4. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
5. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
6. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.

References

See Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) website for VA specific qualification standards: VA Qualification Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO).

Preferred Experience

One year of experience working in a medical or clinic setting, scheduling appointments, referring patients to specialty clinics, collecting insurance documentation, documentation in electronic health records, and advanced medical terminology

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-05.