Medical Support Assistant-Primary & Specialty Medicine

This position is in the Primary Care (PC) and Specialty Care (SC) Integrated Clinical Community (ICC) at the St. Cloud VA Health Care System and is the first administrative point-of-contact for Veterans, family, and other visitors contacting the St. Cloud VA. This position will provide administrative support to clinical staff members and Veterans, in addition to overseeing the daily clerical functions of scheduling in all PC ICC and SC ICC areas.

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Communication
- Demonstrates positive people skills in interactions which reflect caring, service orientation, professionalism, understanding, helpfulness and concern toward Veterans, visitors, and other employees of the Medical Center in both verbal and written communication.
- Maintains Veteran rights, confidentiality, and individuality.
- Resolves issues at the lowest level and in a timely manner.
- Set limits/boundaries which are clearly defined within the MSA/Veteran relationship.
- Have Advanced knowledge of medical terminology to ensure that Veterans and other callers are directed to the most appropriate place of assistance.
- Participate in and independently follow up on team huddles/meetings, sharing information and collaborating with the medical team assuring continuity of care.
- Is the main point of contact for all Secure Messages/Message Manager sent to their team; will either fulfill the request or forward to the appropriate staff for follow up and completion.

Administrative and Operational
- Serves as an agent in the department for scheduled and unscheduled visits.
- Maintains flexibility in adapting to changes in schedule and workload. Assists other team members willingly.
- Prepare reports in various formats and present data to various organizational levels.
- Screens call and determine if the call requires attention from a Registered Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse, Provider, or other designated professional.
- Maintains and secures medical records as appropriate and in accordance with the Health
Insurance Probability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
- Enters appropriate information into the Veterans electronic medical record.
- Assures appropriate forms including and documents are presented, sent out, or completed by the Veterans.
- Facilitates Release of Information for records and documents being received from outside facilities monitor and track the progress of received required information.
- Provides clerical support to the area they are assigned to, this includes support to any staff member.
- Sets deadlines and priorities, adjusting the flow to help meet those deadlines and workload.
- Obtains and monitors the use of services, supplies, and equipment for their offices area.
- Updates Veteran's demographic information to include the following: address, phone number, insurance, preferred method of communication, guardianship reminder, and other information as
new programs are added or changed.
- Receives and responds to inquiries via Secure Messaging, Message Manager, VAR, VET ext, letters, or phone calls. These can include getting information to Veteran care teams through the entry of a note into the CPRS system and alerting the appropriate clinical staff member, requesting tests or medications, questions on appointments, scheduling, and various other inquiries. The MSA can recognize and refer urgent inquiries to clinical staff for immediate action as needed.
- Works or may be assigned to the PC ICC Call Center (in support of SC ICC) in times of short staffing or high call volumes.
- Ability to multitask daily
- Coordinates and assists with department services, programs, and outreach events.
- Participates in encounter closeout.
- Basic knowledge of the technical health care process relating to access to care.
- Follows PCMM process for assigning and reassigning Veterans to Primary Care Providers.
- Processes all health care providers' order accurately.
- Call Center functions include but are not limited to: Answer all PC ICC and SC ICC incoming calls, and assignment of monthly administrative duties.


Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
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 Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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-No Experience required
Education-High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
Certification. None 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
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.
English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

GRADE DETERMINATIONS:

GS-3 MSA (Entry Level)
1. Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-4 MSA (Developmental Level)
1. Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
OR
2. Education: One year of education above high school. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED).
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to Basic Requirements and the experience listed above, candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
1. Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.
2. Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e. computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.
3. Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
4. Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

GS-5 MSA (Full Performance Level)
1. Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
OR
2. Education: Two years of education above high school.(TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED).
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to Basic Requirements and the experience listed above, candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
1. 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.
2. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
3. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
4. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
5. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
6. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard (va.gov)

Preferred experience: Basic Customer Service, Basic Medical Terminology, Basic Scheduling

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5.

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.

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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:

1. 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
2. College transcript

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/.

• 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.
• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical 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.