Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) - Ward Clerk

Summary

The Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), also known as Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA), position is in the Medical Administration Service at the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in Biloxi, MS.

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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

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) - Ward Clerk works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model and performs receptionist duties. The primary duties of the AMSA may include but are not limited to:

• Providing administrative support for inpatient units and those presenting to the emergency room.
• Notifying his/her supervisor if an individual patient cannot be admitted, discharged, or scheduled within mandated time frames.
• Coordinating administrative services for Veterans, family members, caregivers, and public, administrative, and clinical staff to ensure continuity of inpatient care.
• Developing and maintaining effective working relationships with all clinical and administrative staff in determining priorities of activities in support of direct patient care.
• Setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs;
• Developing and maintaining effective and efficient communication with interdisciplinary teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
• Coordinating appointments, including interpreting, and verifying, and completing provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines and regulations.
• Scheduling appointments per clinic set-up and does not overbook or book out of sequence without proper authority from a supervisor or order placed in CPRS.
• Applying policies and procedures associated with operational activities that effect workload data.
• Providing administrative support to one or more inpatient wards and the main hospital emergency room and is an integral member of the team to effectively conduct day-to-day administrative operations relating to hospital admissions and discharges.
• Updating and verifying demographic information, scheduling appointments, collecting insurance information, data entry, and notifying the patient of his/her new patient scheduled appointment.
• Receiving telephone calls and visitors.
• Determining the nature and responds to inquiries from patients concerning a variety of medical, personal, and administrative matters.
• Referring medical questions concerning patient's condition, progress, or treatment to the nurse and/or physician.
• Paging physicians/clinicians when requested and refers telephone messages pertaining to such things as laboratory reports, x-rays, and other test results to physicians or nurses.
• Searching patient medical and administrative records for specific information, to determine patient's eligibility for care, etc., and reports data to physician planning treatment.
• Coordinating in-patients' appointments to ensure timely arrival to appointments and treatments.
• Working in Ward Administration which includes Inpatient Medicine, Surgery, Mental Health wards, Residential Treatment, Emergency Room, Community Living Center, and Blind Rehabilitation Center.
• Performing bed management system duties by utilizing established ward bed management process and procedures.
• Performing registrations for Emergency Room visits after hours in the absence of the AOD where the patient is not enrolled.
  
  

Work Schedule: Typical hours are Friday-Tuesday, 7:00am - 3:30pm; May include off-tours, weekends and holidays. Available tours will be discussed during the interview process and are subject to change based on Agency needs.

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).

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). Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.

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 Available.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 520-00406-F

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.
• May be required to complete pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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

• United States Citizenship. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience and Education.
• (1) 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,
• (2) Education. One year above high school; OR,
• (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
• Certification. None required.
• 
  
  Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
• English Language Proficiency. Medical Support Assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Policy.
  

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).

Grade Determinations. To qualify for the GS-06 level, your resume must demonstrate you possess the required experience necessary to possess the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) required for the grade. Be specific when describing the job duties that demonstrate you possess the KSAs listed. Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit.

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06

• Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level.
  
  

To qualify for this position, you must demonstrate in your resume that you have experience that includes:

• Entering, modifying, retrieving sensitive information into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports;
• Scheduling medical appointments in a clinical setting;
• Performing patient support work;
• Providing customer service and identifying patient concerns to ensure satisfactory resolution;
• Advanced level of medical terminology.
  
  

(b) Assignment. The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments as necessary. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.).

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition, you must demonstrate ALL of the following KSAs in your resume:
• 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.
  
  

Preferred Experience:

• Strong organizational skills with ability to prioritize and manage multiple competing tasks.
• A high degree of personal and professional accountability, maturity, stability and the ability to function independently and work effectively as a team with internal and external personnel.
• Ability to adapt to changing work assignments as needed to meet facility needs.
  
  

**Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit.**

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06.



Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

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/.

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 credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

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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