Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Veterans Health Administration; Johnson City (TN); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Health Administration in Johnson City, TN seeks an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to provide specialized administrative patient support within an interdisciplinary care delivery model. Duties include greeting patients, scheduling appointments, coordinating with staff, and relaying messages across teams.

Applicants must have a high school diploma or GED and be proficient in English. Experience is not required, but detailed resume documentation is essential for qualifications.

Qualifications

• Ability to collaborate with a wide range of clinicians to accomplish team goals.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines.
• Effective communication with internal and external customers in multiple formats.
• Advanced knowledge of healthcare scheduling, patient portals, and care delivery models.
• Familiarity with policies and procedures affecting patient flow and coordination.
• Strong medical terminology knowledge for clinical support.

Responsibilities

• Greet patients, answer phones, and relay messages to appropriate staff.
• Schedule appointments and coordinate with providers within scheduling guidelines.
• Communicate with patients and staff in person, by phone, and electronically.
• Interpret and verify provider orders to schedule within guidelines.

Skills

Collaboration with clinicians

Prioritization & organization

Clear communication

Healthcare process knowledge

Policies & procedures

Medical terminology

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

Business Office program area. The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary, coordinated care delivery model. There are various specialty sections within the Business Office program areas. 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

• Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Experience. No experience required.
• 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
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations

In addition to the basic requirements above, applicants must meet the following experience:

Experience.

One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-5 Medical Support Assistant grade level. Duties at this level include, but are not limited to: performing a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting; answering phones; greeting patients; relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit; scheduling appointments; including interpreting and verifying provider orders to schedule within scheduling guidelines.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

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.

Grandfathering Provision. Applicants 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).

Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Medical Support Assistant" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

Note: 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 a range of varieties.

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

Physical Requirements:

Typically, the Advanced Medical Support Assistant must be able to operate a computer terminal and be able to manage multiple activities at one time. Work is generally sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items.

Work Environment:

Work may be stressful due to the accelerated pace for several hours at a time during peak clinic hours or on days that have a large volume of clinic activity.