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Summary The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) is assigned to the Ambulatory Surgery Unit and the Anesthesia Pre-op, (ASU/APO) Department and will be responsible for providing clerical and administrative support to the ASU/APO Department. The MSA is responsible for coordinating and maintaining the clinic appointment schedule for all providers within the ASU/APO team. This position resides in Nursing Service. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Receives patients both in person and via telephone. Records and relays messages and/or redirect calls as necessary. Refers urgent messages and patient results for immediate action. Obtains identifying information and determines the nature of the visit/call. Insures eligibility for care and contacts appropriate staff member for verification, when necessary. Verifies benefit eligibility determinations. outlines the medical care benefits to which the patient has entitlement. Obtains all key information needed and initiates administrative processing of basic requests and forms. Checks patients in for appointments in the ASU/APO Department. Maintains and monitors patient appointment schedules for the unit/clinic, and communicates delays in scheduled appointments to the appropriate staff and patients. Attempts to resolve complaints of a local administrative nature and refers other complaints to appropriate authorities. Responds to questions from patients concerning services. Coordinates and/or schedules patient appointments with other clinics or specialties. Receives and handles concerns ensuring that quality service is rendered in a timely competent and caring manner. MSA serves as a central point of contact for information, receives and processes all first-time applicants for outpatient treatment. Performs clerical work in support of the care and treatment given to patients such as receiving patients and maintaining patient files. Assumes responsibility for all phone calls to the ASU/APO Department, including both patient and staff inquires and complaints. Triages phone calls to the appropriate provider as warranted by the situation. Resolves all clinical and administrative issues by working with various members of the ASU/APO team in the time frame dictated by the situation (emergent or non-emergent) and communicates resolution to the relevant party. Schedules patients for clinic appointments and procedures using VISTA scheduling software while adhering to the outpatient scheduling directives. Scheduling patients for procedures using VISTA surgical package if an OR is needed. Contacts patients scheduled for clinic appointments and procedures and if appointment/procedure will be canceled or rescheduled. Reschedules appointments appropriately. Accepts appointment cancellation phone messages from patients and informs the ASU/APO clinic providers of the patient's condition and request to cancel. Manages clinic profile changes or cancellations and responsible for new clinic set up. Sets up and monitors electronic wait list (EWL) as necessary. Sets up and manages clinic recall list for established patients. Familiar with relevant CPT and ICD codes for clinic and procedures to assist in closing out encounters to ensure facility workload and billing. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday Variable hours 6:00am-6:00pm Compressed/Flexible: Telework: No Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Requirements 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). 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, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/15/2024 Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g. Experience and Education. 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; Copy of Transcript is required; OR, Education. One year above high school. Copy of Transcript is required; OR, Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Copy of Transcript is required. Grandfathering Provision. All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, [which] are [a] part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or [changed to a lower grade] within the occupation. (2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (3) If an employee who was converted to Title 38 hybrid status under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Creditable Experience Knowledge of MSA Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities [or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting]. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or [an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting. Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience [or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting] at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and a range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the MSA at least 25% of the time. Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a MSA employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service. 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). Grade Determinations: For GS-05 In addition to the basic requirements you must demonstrate that you possess one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GS-04). GS 4 equivalent experience: One year of experience in 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. You will be rated on the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities based on your application for this position: Please make sure that each is addressed in detail in the body of your resume. i. 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. ii. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients. iii. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting. iv. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work. v. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers. vi. Sill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution. References: VA Handbook 5005, PART II, APPENDIX G45 Medical Support Assistant VA Qualification Standards. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-05. Physical Requirements: Position is primarily sedentary. Work is conducted at desk setting. Some walking and standing throughout the day from desk to other areas, MSA must be able to travel to other areas with ease. The majority of time is spent working at a desk. It involves the frequent use of office equipment including the telephone, copier, personal computer, printer and similar automated equipment. There is potential for extended periods of sitting, standing and carrying items weighing up to 20 pounds (i.e., medical records and manuals). The MSA is expected to use proper preventive ergonomic techniques to perform duties. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. 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. 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.