Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Mechanicsburg (Cumberland County); On-site; USD 42,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs, Cumberland VA Community Clinic in Mechanicsburg, PA, seeks a Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) to provide administrative support to physicians and staff across the Primary Care service area. The role supports scheduling, patient flow, and data entry to ensure efficient clinic operations.

Applicants must meet basic requirements, including U.S. citizenship and a high school diploma or equivalent, with English proficiency and potential grandfathering

Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. citizen; non-citizens only as VA policy permits
• Education: high school diploma or GED or proficiency certificate
• English language proficiency per VA Handbook 5005
• Grandfathering provision may apply for current VA employees
• Preferred: Medical Scheduling experience (if stated in ad)

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative assistance to physicians, PAs, ARNPs, nurses, dietitians, social workers and staff.
• Assist with scheduling, rescheduling, and patient appointments according to scheduling guidelines.
• Enter demographics and insurance information at check-in; coordinate transfers to other facilities as needed.

Skills

Collaboration across clinicians

Prioritization & organization

Communication (written & verbal)

Healthcare process knowledge

Policies & procedures knowledge

Medical terminology knowledge

Education

High school diploma / GED / proficiency certificate

Foreign education equivalency acknowledgment

Job description

This position is located at the Cumberland VA Community Clinic in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and provides support to the Health Administration Service. Responsibilities include providing administrative assistance to physicians, physician assistants, advanced registered nurse practitioners, nurses, dietitians, social workers, and other administrative and professional staff throughout the Primary Care service area.

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

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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).

Grade Determinations

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified.

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06

One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Experience includes, but is not limited to: answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit; scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines; 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; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments; coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

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

Preferred Experience:

Medical Scheduling

Reference:

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

Physical Requirements:

Work is performed in an office setting and is primarily sedentary. May require lifting and carrying of light loads (e.g. files, records, etc.)