Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Iowa City (IA); On-site; USD 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to join their Surgery Outpatient Specialty team. In this pivotal role, you will coordinate with the patient care team, ensuring efficient clinic operations and communication with patients and medical professionals. Your expertise will help enhance patient care and streamline clinic processes. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to a vital healthcare system, where your skills in organization and communication will make a significant impact on patient experiences. If you're passionate about supporting healthcare delivery and thrive in a collaborative environment, this role is for you.

Qualifications

• Six months of clerical or customer service experience required.
• Must be proficient in spoken and written English.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate with patient care team to review clinic utilization.
• Maintain effective communication with patients and medical staff.

Skills

Communication Skills

Organizational Skills

Customer Service

Knowledge of Medical Terminology

Collaboration Skills

Education

High School Diploma

One Year Above High School

Tools

Hospital Computer System

Job description

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant in the Surgery Outpatient Specialty departments is required to work in other departments as necessary. S/he works for the Iowa City VA Health Care System at the Iowa City campus.

Duties:

The Advanced MSA coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary), ensure that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments. They develop/maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team; notify patients of normal lab results; develop and manage a tracking system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.).

Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to:

Requirements:

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

1. a. Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.)
2. b. Experience and Education:
   (1) Experience: Six months 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
   (2) Education: One year above high school; OR
   (3) Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
3. c. Certification: None required.
4. d. Grandfathering Provision: All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, which are a part of the basic requirements of the occupation.
5. e. 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.
6. f. English Language Proficiency: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.

Grade Determinations:

GS-06 Advanced Medical Support Assistant

Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Examples of qualifying experience at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments.

AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

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

All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in your application may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA to demonstrate how you have gained each one in your application package or on a supplemental document.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit VA Qualification Standards. 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.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and transporting items under 20 pounds. Works extensively in the hospital computer system.