Program Support Assistant Jobs in Livingston, NJ

Summary
Medical Support Assistants provide administrative support to our clinical colleagues in the care of our Nation's Veterans. Our mission is to provide efficient and effective healthcare services by promoting and enabling the delivery of timely, accurate, accessible health care. VA is committed to cultivating a dedicated workforce of highly skilled employees who understand, believe in, and take pride in VA's mission.
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Duties
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The Medical Support Assistant position performs support work relating to the care and treatment given to patients in inpatient units, outpatient clinics, patient scheduling call centers, Care in the Community Support Staff (CitC), and ancillary support services. This series includes work that requires practical knowledge of computerized data entry, information processing systems and software related to patient care, the health care system's organization and services, basic rules and regulations governing visitors and patient treatment, knowledge of standard procedures, utilizing medical records, and medical terminology.

• Screens patients, visitors and caregivers at the Medical Center.
• Collects and updates insurance information from Veterans, family members and other eligible patients.
• Prepare correspondence and memos as needed.
• Screens/receive phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of request and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes.
• Records patient messages via email or CPRS schedulers administrative note to provider/nurse/Team and understands provider requests pertaining to follow up medical care in internal or external clinics via use of Return to Clinic orders
• Provides customer service to all Veterans; identifying concerns to forward to appropriate clinic/administrative staff to ensure satisfactory resolution.
• Ensure data is entered into VISTA accurately and scans documents into VISTA Imaging within 24 hours of entering the data into VISTA if applicable.
• Promotes Veteran registration for and utilization of My Healthy Vet (MHV)
• Stocks basic office supplies for the clinical area.
• Enters Veterans seeking emergent/urgent care, scheduling appointments accurately in accordance with VHA National Scheduling guidelines.
• Utilizes call lists and telephones Veterans to pre-register them before their scheduled visits. Incumbent updates all patient demographics.
• Communicates and interacts with patients in a manner which is appropriate to cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation needs of the adult and/or geriatric patient.
• Assures that all appropriate VA forms are used correctly, and regulations followed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible:Not Authorized.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
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 #: 49758-F- 497886-F- 49787-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination.
• 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
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. 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. No license required.
• 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:
Medical Support Assistant, GS-03:

• Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-04:

• Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.; OR
• Education. One year of education above high school. AND,
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  
  • Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
  • Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.
  • Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.
  • Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e., computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-05:

• Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; OR
• Education. Two years of education above high school. AND,
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  
  • Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
  • Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
  • Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.
  • Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
  • Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
  • Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-05.
Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
Education
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
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.