Lead Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The Lead Medical Support Assistant (LMSA) with the VA Care in the Community (VACC) provides expertise, guidance and direction and has responsibilities relative to providing administrative support, coordination, and technical assistance in the planning, development, and maintenance of an effective, comprehensive and integrated VACC Program at this Medical Center.

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Duties

Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf

Medical Support Assistant: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdf

Major Duties:

• Accountable for the day-to-day administration of the assigned VACC functions.
• Work closely with internal and external customers
• Responsible for the oversight of workload within the section and for the creation and maintenance of employee work schedules.
• Set priorities for work to be accomplished.
• Interpret and communicate requirements of VACC and assist with on-the-job training for new and current employees.
• Responsible for ensuring training requirements are met.
• Managing consult services assigned per VACC guidelines.
• Determine eligibility for VACC.
• Create authorizations for episodes of care prior to care being received.
• Applying an appropriate cost for obligation management.
• Schedule appointments per the scheduling policy accurately and in a timely manner.
• Follow processes for Mission Act.
• Uploading of medical documentation to the organizational portal.
• Daily review of active/pending/scheduled consults for accuracy and disposition.
• Daily review of notifications in Third party Portal.
• Responds daily to notifications in Third party Portal
• Scheduling referrals.
• Completing meeting minutes for all VACC meetings.
• Reviewing Request for Additional Service forms.
• Follow-up for medical documentation once appointments have occurred.
• Scanning of medical documentation for timely closure of consults.
• Completion of provider agreements.
• Conduct, monitor, summarize data and prepare reports for presentation to medical center staff and management.
• Delegate, evaluate, organize, and oversee people and programs, in the VACC section.
• Advises management and staff about changes in policy and procedure.
• Other duties as assigned.
  
  

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm

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)

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 Eligible

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 000000

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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).
• 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

Basic Requirements:

c. Certification. None required.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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).
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credits and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
• 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 3.j.
  
  

Lead Medical Support Assistant, GS-7

Grade Determinations: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level, Examples of experience may include:

• 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
• Independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established procedures, policies and regulations;
• Communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, 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
• Acquired 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.
• Acquired advanced knowledge of polices 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.
• Acquired advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
  
  

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the Basic Requirements and experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• 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, and 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.
  
  

Preferred Experience: Experience in answering phones in a call center and able to manage high incoming call volume while making outbound calls.



Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is G-7.



Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Education


IMPORTANT: There are no education substitutions for GS-7, Lead Medical Support Assistant. 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.

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.

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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