Summary
The purpose of the position is to serve as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) to the Health Administration Service (HAS) Call Center.
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Duties
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VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo
The Advanced MSA supports the Facility Wide with ongoing management of contacting veterans and their caregivers for scheduling, canceling, and re-scheduling appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; preparing for clinic visits; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information; processing records from outside medical care, and obtaining copies of form DD214 (Report of Military Separation) as needed for eligibility and benefit determination. Day to day tasks include, but may not be limited to:
a. Knowledgeably utilizes VA scheduling software including the Electronic Health Record, ISS, VS GUI and Virtual Care Manager in establishing patient appointments within the appropriate desired date.
b. Adheres to scheduling protocol on patient outreach attempts and ensures appointments entered in ISS are accurately reflected in CPRS.
c. Appointments are cancelled/rescheduled according to established protocols and informational note is entered in CPRS.
d. Patients receive a call 24-hours in advance and are reminded of scheduled appointments.
e. Verifies and updates demographic and eligibility information in computer systems.
f. Refers all questions requiring immediate medical or clinical attention to the appropriate health care team member.
The incumbent utilizes various reports to complete assigned tasks, such as EARR (Error Action Required report), 1st time appointment reports, consults due reports, and other national, VISN, and locally developed reports. Additional day to day tasks includes, but may not be limited to:
a. Assists in the update, development, and maintenance of program materials, packets, and other printed materials.
b. Assists with the orientation/on the job training of new staff.
c. Completes work orders and contacts appropriate staff when requested to support the environment of care.
d. Prepares correspondence to support the administrative functions of the assigned team; all correspondence is neatly formatted and checked for appropriate spelling and grammar, all documents are the current version, and outgoing Certified mail meets USPS standards.
e. Participates in scheduling/phone audits and reviews to ensure effective scheduling practices.
f. May have other administrative duties assigned, including but not limited to records management
The incumbent provides support for the Health Administration Service and also cross trained in many of the specific job functions of other support staff performing duties such as resulting consults, scanning, and providing front desk coverage. This versatility enables the incumbent to provide cross coverage for time sensitive administrative duties needing completion when those staff with primary responsibility are unavailable.
Work Schedule: Days Shift Tours
Compressed/Flexible: Not available
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #:
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Recruitment Incentive: Not Authorized
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)
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)
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.
- You may be required to serve a probationary period.
- Subject to background/security investigation.
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- 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 complaint cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
- Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
- As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year 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
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. All other requirements must be met within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
Basic Requirements:
- United States Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
- Experience and Education:
- Experience: Six months experience of clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position; OR,
- Education: One year above high school; OR,
- Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
Grade Determination:
In addition to meeting basic requirement listed above, applicant must possess at least one year experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower level, GS5 (Full Performance level), that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). Candidates must demonstrate, in their resume, all of the KSAs below:
i. 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.
ii. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
iii. 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.
iv. 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.
v. 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.
vi. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
- Grandfathering Provision: 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).
- Physical requirements: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts, or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.
Condition of employment: Must be able to pass the national scheduling training exam and competency within 60 days of employment.
Education
IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.
Additional information
Receiving Service Credit or 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.
VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio, Indiana and Michigan (VISN 10) advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.
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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