Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Coralville (IA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Iowa City VA Healthcare System in Coralville is seeking a Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) to serve as the first administrative point of contact for Veterans, family, and visitors, and to provide initial clerical support to clinical staff in the Primary Care areas.

The role includes greeting patients, answering phones, scheduling appointments, communicating with providers, and managing daily clerical functions to ensure smooth patient flow within the clinic.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• One year of experience equivalent to GS-5 (applicant requirement).
• Proficiency in English (spoken and written).

Responsibilities

• First administrative point of contact for Veterans, family, and visitors.
• Provide introductory administrative support to clinical staff and Veterans.
• Oversee daily clerical functions of scheduling in Primary Care areas.

Skills

Customer service

Scheduling

Communication

English proficiency

Microsoft Office

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) is in the PC ICC with the Iowa City VA Healthcare System located at Coralville VA Clinic. The Advanced MSA is the first administrative point-of contact for Veterans, family, and other visitors contacting the Iowa City VA Healthcare System. This position will provide introductory administrative support to clinical staff members and Veterans, in addition to overseeing the daily clerical functions of the scheduling of all Primary Care areas.

Basic Requirements

• a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens
• b. Experience. None.
• c. Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• d. Licensure/Certification/Registration. None.
• f. 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.
• g. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
• h. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6

Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level

Examples of qualifying experience

Examples of qualifying experience, include but are not limited to, independently performing a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advising clinical staff on current administrative processes. Performing administrative support duties including answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate medical staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• (a) Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care.
• (b) Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care administrative functions to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc.
• (c) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
• (d) Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g., medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
• (e) Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• (f) Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns.

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-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6.