Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Veterans Health Administration; Toledo (OH); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

The Veterans Health Administration seeks an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to join Community Care Service in Toledo, OH. This role supports patient access, schedules appointments, answers phones, greets patients, and relays messages to clinical staff.

Candidates must meet Basic Requirements; no experience required; high school diploma or GED; proficient in English. The GS-06 level involves increasing responsibility and independent work within scheduling and care coordination.

Qualifications

• Must meet basic requirements for VA employment including U.S. citizenship.
• No experience required for entry to GS-06 level per notice.
• High school diploma or GED or equivalent education verified.
• Proficient in spoken and written English; grandfathering provisions may apply for current VA staff.

Responsibilities

• Answering phones and greeting patients in person.
• Relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside the unit.
• Scheduling appointments in accordance with scheduling guidelines.
• Interpreting and verifying provider orders to schedule accurately.
• Maintaining patient flow and coordinating care within the team.

Skills

Communication skills

Phone etiquette

Prioritization

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Medical terminology

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Computer terminal

Job description

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant assigned to Community Care Service. The Community Care team that generally consists of two registered nurse care navigators and three to four administrative associate MSA per teamlets.

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 however, if you were in the Medical Support Assistant occupation (GS-0679) on a permanent appointment with the Department of Veterans Affairs as of February 5, 2026, meeting all qualification requirements as part of the grandfathering provision (A Transcript or proof of High School Diploma/Equivalent is required if basing any or all qualifications on 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). 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 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.

• 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.

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. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-06. 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:

The 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.