Program Support Assistant Jobs in Berkeley, CA (NOW HIRING)

Summary
The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) is responsible for a range of clerical and administrative duties that demonstrate the advanced level of the Medical Support Assistant (MSA). The San Francisco VA Health Care System uses a practice group concept that combines managed care and primary care treatment models. This position is located VA Clinic Oakland, California.
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Duties
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VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo
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At this level the Advanced Medical Support Assistant must have the ability to multi-task, working rapidly and independently with a high degree of accuracy. The AMSA must be dependable, use good judgement and effectively/accurately analyze and evaluate all situations to ensure the veteran receives the highest quality of care. Good written and oral communication skills are essential.
Duties include but are not limited to:

• Scheduling, cancelling, and re-scheduling patient appointments by managing appointment requests (including but not limited to Return-to-Clinic Orders (RTC), Recall Reminders, Veteran's Appointment Requests (VAR), Consults, and Patient initiated requests in accordance with scheduling business rules as outlined in VHA Directive 1230, Outpatient Scheduling Management, and VHA Directive 1232, Consult Management, utilizing scheduling programs as mandated by your supervisor.
• Consult Management: Coordinate the scheduling/rescheduling of consults or forwarding of consults to community care using the various scheduling systems and tools. Contacts the Veteran to discuss VA and community care options, gathering the Veteran's scheduling preferences and appropriately documenting all mandatory consult scheduling elements as outlined in VHA Directive 1232, Consult Management. Responsible for tracking consult progress from file entry date to the scheduled date or cancellation of the consult.
• Documenting all patient related correspondences and outreach for scheduling in the electronic medical record.
• Check-in/check-out procedures for patient visits and ensuring patient demographics (to include but not limited to mailing address, contact information, email, etc.) are validated and up to date in the patient's record. Responsible for capturing Non-VA health insurance utilizing the Insurance Capture Buffer software.
• Logging into phone system application, (multiline phone system application) as directed by the supervisor, to answer incoming calls in accordance with standard operating procedures and customer service policy.
• Responsible for managing incoming and outgoing digital and physical faxes. Distributes, receives, sorts, and delivers incoming and outgoing mail or other documents to the appropriate individuals.
• Responding to incoming correspondences, including, but not limited to, VA emails, Instant Messages, Voicemails, and Secure Messaging within the timeliness parameters as outlined by department.
• Responsible for Lobby Management, including, but not limited to monitoring the reception patient check-in/check-out line, general cleanliness of the lobby (if needed escalating concerns to other departments as necessary), restocking flyers and brochures, and addressing Veterans that have been waiting longer than 15 minutes.
• Appropriately complete initial paperwork for same day walk-in "triage" patient's, notifies the appropriate nursing staff members and alerts clinical staff immediately of any urgent/emergent issues. Collaborates effectively with fellow SFVAHCS staff to ensure patient concerns are addressed.
• Responsible for processing view alerts per VHA policy timelines.
• Completes no-show reconciliation at the end of each clinic period, including the rescheduling of patients per VHA policy.
• Reviews upcoming pending appointments, as necessary, to ensure patients are being seen appropriately.

Other related duties may be assigned.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 09517F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications
Advanced Medical Support Assistant, GS-6
Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
(a) 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.
(b) 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.
(c) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
(d) 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.
(e) Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
(f) 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.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
Physical Requirements: No special physical qualifications are required.
Education
There is no education substitution at this grade level.
Education Documents may requested from eligible applicants.
Additional information
Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.