Advanced Medical Support Assistant-Intermittent

Summary

Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla, WA is looking to fill one Advanced Medical Support Assistant position within the Health Administration Service Line at the La Grande, OR Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) .

The list generated from this announcement can be used up to 90 days to fill any additional vacancies that may arise.

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Duties

Advanced Medical Support Assistants (AMSAs) in Health Administration Service Line 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. AMSAs are essential to the success of this mission.

Duties will include but are not limited to:

• Determining health care eligibility for Veteran patients.
• Administrative processing of Veteran patients in enrollment, benefits, and registration.
• Counseling Veteran patients regarding entitlement enrollment for health care benefits and other special programs.
• Obtaining essential information and documentation from Veteran patients for enrollment activities.
• Performing scheduling functions for Veteran patients including appointments, cancellations, and re-scheduling.
• Facilitating communication between Veterans and other facility consult departments.
• Support of inpatient units and wards with administrative duties during day, evening, night, and weekend shifts.
• Processing and record keeping of inpatient medical records.
• Manual and electronic data entry.- Collation of statistical information.
• Entry of Physician orders and consult requests.
• Prepares Veteran patient statistics.
• Providing reception to incoming and outgoing customers and communication.
• Utilizes Microsoft Office software to compile data and formulate reports.
  
  

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized

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).

Telework: Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 000000

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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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. 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 dentification 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).
  
  

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

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  United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency. MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.
  
  

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience in an advanced or complex clinical setting utilizing numerous advanced patient care systems, scheduling appointments across multiple clinics and coordination of services among a diverse team of medical providers and clinics to include outside agencies, advanced knowledge of medical terminology, advanced knowledge of the technical health care processes, policy and procedures as it relates to coordination of care.

Candidates must demonstrate the KSAs below:

• 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.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
  
  

Reference: VA Handbook 5005/53, Part II, Appendix G45, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard, GS-679. Published August 1, 2019.

The full performance level of this vacancy is 6.



Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary but may require periods of standing and walking. There are not any physical requirements for the 0679 series.

Education

Education is not used for substitution of experience at the GS 6 level.

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.

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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• Help 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.