Medical Support Assistant (Adv

The Salt Lake City VA Health Care System is recruiting for Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) position in Health Administration Service at the Saint George, CBOC. The ASMA is primarily responsible for customer service, scheduling, and administrative support for the assigned clinics/providers and other duties as assigned relate to care coordination for treatment of patients in the medical center or outpatient clinic.

The AMSA performs administrative support functions including scheduling appointments, inbound/outbound phone support, consult review and necessary documentation related to care coordination for treatment of patients in the medical center or outpatient clinics. The Advanced MSA demonstrates strong communication and customer services skills and works closely with all staff members performing the administrative duties essential to support the timely care of patients and support of the service/unit goals.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Greets and checks patients in/out for appointments.
• Schedules/Cancels appointments and interprets/verifies provider orders/consults in accordance with VHA Scheduling directives and guidelines.
• Ensures that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic and makes any necessary adjustments.
• Develops/maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
• Facilitates/processes secure messaging with the patient and team; notifies patients of normal lab results.
• Develops and manages a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc..
• Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care.
• Sets priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.
• May work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record.
• Monitors pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work).
• Monitors orders, consults, recalls to verify and validate accuracy, resolve issues and schedule/disposition as necessary.

• 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 Aligned Care Team (PACT) or the clinical team within the Specialty they are supporting, 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.
• Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team.

• Enters appropriate information into the electronic record; monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure.
• Evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; informs team members about shared patients (i.e., those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community)
• Supports Patient Safety standards using the correct Veterans Affairs identification of all patients and adheres to standards/responsibilities in responding to medical emergencies.
• Other duties as assigned by MSA Supervisor or Lead MSA

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, TBD.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Title/Functional Statement #Advanced Medical Support Assistant/53181-A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Experience. None.
• Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Licensure/Certification/Registration. None.
• Grandfathering Provision. Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply:
  1. 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.
  2. Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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: GS-06 Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the following grade requirements. To qualify at this level, candidates must have: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Examples of credible experience at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments; coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other clinical/medical facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status.

AND

Candidates must also demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) below:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
4. 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.
5. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
6. 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.

Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Medical Support Assistant" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

Preferred Experience: Previous experience as a medical support assistant, working in a call center and/or performing administrative health care functions.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.The full performance level of this vacancy is 06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is 06.

Physical Requirements: Typically, the Advanced Medical Support Assistant must be able to operate a computer terminal and be able to manage multiple activities at one time. Work is generally sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items. Work Environment: The work may be stressful due to the accelerated pace for several hours at a time during peak clinic hours or on days that have a large volume of clinic activity.

IMPORTANT: If using post-high school education to substitute for experience at the GS-04 or GS-05, you must submit a copy of your unofficial or official transcript with your application.If selected, to meet the basic requirement of high school education or equivalent and prior to a firm job offer being extended, applicants must provide one of the following as verification of the education requirement if not covered under the grandfathering provision:

• Copy of high school diploma OR high school transcript (unofficial or official) OR GED Certificate OR homeschooling completion OR proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education OR college transcript (official)

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass TB test pre-employment examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.