Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to join a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) or Specialty Care setting. The role focuses on patient support, scheduling, and administrative tasks within electronic health records systems.

The position requires US citizenship, a high school diploma or GED, and proficiency in English. Applicants must meet basic requirements by the closing date and demonstrate KSAs related to medical terminology, customer service,

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required; relevant experience acceptable.
• Excellent communication and customer-service skills are essential.
• Ability to use electronic health records and scheduling systems.

Responsibilities

• Provide patient support and administrative assistance on a PACT or Specialty Care setting.
• Assist with scheduling and coordination of patient care and follow-up.
• Enter, modify and retrieve patient information in health records systems while ensuring privacy.

Skills

Medical terminology

Customer service

EHR systems

Scheduling

Professional communication

Independent work

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Electronic health records

Scheduling software

Job description

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant assigned to a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model or a Specialty Care Setting involved in a PACT model. The PACT team let is a primary care team that generally consists of a primary care provider (MD, NP, PA), registered nurse care manager, clinical associate (LPN or medical assistant/health technician) and an administrative associate (MA/MSA/health technician). To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/30/2026.

Medical Support Assistant Basic Requirements

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.

OR

• 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.

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).

Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

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-5 Grade Experience

One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level that equips the candidate with the following:

Candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

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.

AND

GS-6 Grade Requirements

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
4. 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.
5. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
6. 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.

References: VA Qualification Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO).

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.