LEAD MEDICAL SUPPORT ASSISTANT
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Summary The current vacancy is located in the Health Administration Department at the Tomah VA and is responsible for the coordination of Advanced MSA assignments and workflow found in the interdisciplinary unit. Responsibilities This position serves as a Lead Medical Support Assistant (MSA) and performs clerical and administrative support in the coordination, care and treatment provided to patients throughout the Health Administration Department and associated clinics. This position is responsible for ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of VA Health Administration appointments, providing guidance and leadership to the Advanced MSAs, conducting ongoing reviews to ensure quality of work, development of training, collecting data, running reports, organizing work and setting priorities to ensure completion of duties is accomplished in a timely manner. Duties Include: -Monitors and makes work assignments and coordinates coverage at all workstations, provides input on performance, resolves daily workplace issues, and maintains efficient workflow. -Coordinates department flow, workload capture, and other administrative support functions associate with the day to day department operation. -Assists the supervisor in monitoring and ensuring the integrity of various databases, to include, consult management, other reports. -Ensures front line scheduling staff understand and appropriately utilize the administrative support packages. -Schedules patient appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider order in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. -Provides information and guidance to agency employees as requested. -Preforming related duties as assigned. Work Schedules: First Shift, Monday through Friday, 8:00AM to 4:30PM Telework: Not eligible for Telework Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. 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). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, facility applicants must meet all requirements within 15 days of the closing date of this announcement. Non-facility applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Basic Requirements: The following are the basic requirements and amounts of experience and/or education required to qualify for this position. Creditable experience is defined as, experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current Medical Support Assistant responsibilities. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as a Medical Support Assistant. United States Citizenship English Language Proficiency Experience – Six months experience of clerical, office, customer service, or other 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. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university. (Transcripts Required) OR Combination – Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying for this position. (Transcripts Required) In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in order to qualify at the GS-7 grade level for this Lead MSA position. Specialized Experience: One (1) year of experience that is directly related to the duties of a Medical Support Assistant and that equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. This experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-6) and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities. Experience at this level includes, but is not limited to: expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model; set priorities and organizes work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations; communicates tactfully and effectively by phone, in person and in writing; advanced knowledge of technical health care process including scheduling patient appointments 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 coordination care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care to include appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc.; and advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians In addition, candidates, must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources. Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting. Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines. Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff. Ability to provide staff development and training. Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, ad adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting. There may be some walking, standing twisting, turning, sitting, pushing, bending, repetitive keyboarding, or carrying of light items. Some positions may require sitting for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while talking on a telephone headset. Work Environment: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts, which require normal safety precautions. The work requires safe work practices with office equipment, avoidance of trips and falls and observance of fire regulations. The work area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. The employee works in a close proximity to patients, and is therefore, exposed to communicable diseases. Some exposure to verbal abuse may be experienced in certain position. 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 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. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants 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. 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.