Supervisory Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Worcester (MA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Supervisory Medical Support Assistant at the GS-08 level to lead patient support staff in a VA medical center or outpatient setting.

The role requires strong leadership, budgeting awareness, and team collaboration, with responsibilities spanning staff supervision, training, scheduling, and data reporting to support patient care services.

Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship required and English proficiency.
• One year of creditable experience at GS-07 or equivalent.
• Educational requirements: high school diploma or GED.
• Ability to supervise patient support staff and manage team performance.
• Strong collaboration with clinical and administrative teams.

Responsibilities

• Plan, organize, and direct work of lower grade Medical Support Assistants.
• Evaluate subordinate staff and resolve workplace issues.
• Lead training and orientation for staff; ensure adherence to VA directives.
• Coordinate scheduling, data collection, and reporting for management.
• Serve as liaison between medical staff, patients, and other services.

Skills

MSA supervision

Staff training

Customer service

Interdepartmental collaboration

Budget forecasting

Education

High school diploma / GED

Job description

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).
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• 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.
• Licensure/Certification/Registration: None.

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

Supervisory Medical Support Assistant, GS-08

• Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-07).
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  • Advanced knowledge of managing or leading patient support staff in a clinic. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and 13 empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.
  • Ability to provide the full range of administrative and supervisory duties to at least one subordinate MSA supervisor or team leader in a patient support setting which includes assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation of awards and/or advancements.
  • Ability to collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate customer service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers to ensure quality/continuity of care and ensure compliance with established policies and regulations.
  • Ability to provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training in a patient support setting.
  • Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs.

Assignment

Supervisory MSAs at this GS-08 level plan and direct programs at medical centers and/or satellite outpatient clinics. They have full responsibility for supervising at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting. Assignments at this level include but are not limited to evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving complex problems to ensure patient services are met; evaluating new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improved operations; identifying educational or training needs; making final decisions on hiring selections; evaluating performance and taking disciplinary action when necessary. The employee has administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the subordinate lead, supervisor, and MSA's activities. Responsible for extracting and analyzing data to provide reports to senior management in support of tracking measures.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Assignment of work based on requirements and resources available, to efficiently and economically accomplish the work to meet program goals and established objectives. Reviews work produced and analyzes weekly reports to evaluate production and takes appropriate action to resolve backlogs, scheduling errors, ICB Capture, BARR Review and Pre Registration Data.

Conducts regular staff meetings with the medical support assistants to update them on policy changes and new procedures. S/he attends required Section meetings and other meetings throughout the facility as deemed appropriate. The employee may serve on workgroups and/or committees as deemed appropriate. Incumbent may be called to assist in audits or studies relating to the clinical setting.

Serves as point of contact for resolving patient issues especially regarding appointment and scheduling concerns. Incumbent researches the issue and attempts to resolve it before it escalates to the Patient Representative, Clinical Service Chief, Chief of Staff or Center Director's Office.

Maintains clerical guidelines and manuals as well as preparation of material to be used in training new employees. Training materials used shall be developed by their Supervisor and conform to the most up-to-date procedures. Incumbent will also be responsible for training auxiliary personnel such as temporary, work study, and volunteers used for intermittent heavy workload areas.

The employee acts as liaison with the Medical Support Assistants, Medical staff, Nursing staff and other services offering expert advice on administrative details and procedures relative to areas and will evaluate problematic areas and present findings to their Supervisor and respective Service Line designees for corrective action. This necessitates the incumbent to be an authority on current VA regulations and published hospital guidelines that affect administrative functions. The vital importance of effective training in this section cannot be overemphasized. Incumbent will be constantly involved and have direct contact with staff and assist in orientation of Medical Support Assistants, Physicians, etc., and midlevel in administrative procedures. Incumbent works closely with providers and clinic staff to ensure all processes are compliant in accordance with VHA Directive 1230- Outpatient Scheduling Processes and Procedures, VHA Directive 1232- Consult Processes and Procedures, and VHA Directive 1231- Outpatient Clinic Practice Management.

Functions

Responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the work of lower grade medical support assistants. The incumbent provides input on the lower grade medical support assistants' performance, evaluates the work of subordinate staff, and resolves workplace issues. The employee establishes work priorities, identifies developmental training needs of employees and provides or arranges for training when required. He/she works closely with the Supervisor to identify and develop training which meets the needs of the MSA and administrative/clinical data capture requirements. The incumbent's responsibility for training includes, but is not limited to, in-service education of on-the-job skills, classroom instruction closely associated with actual hospital clinical practices, and attitudes and relationship of position to professional staff.

The position requires a thorough knowledge of clinical procedures for receiving and following through on patient requests for treatment. The incumbent must have an understanding of the goals and objectives of various service lines and have a familiarity of the functions of each clinic area. This includes a broad knowledge of the VA Rules and Regulations, medical terminology, the ability to comprehend medical and administrative directives and memoranda, record keeping and public relations. The employee must possess the analytical ability to research, assemble, and compile information and data, evaluate the results against appropriate standards and recommend corrective action where indicated. Incumbent must have basic knowledge of rules and regulation governing eligibility and enrollment, satisfactory communication skills both oral and written, ability to utilize PC and applicable applications, ability to coordinate job activities, possess excellent interpersonal skills, and the ability to maintain program focus even under adversity.

Reference

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

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.