Medical Support Assistant - Advanced

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until November 30, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications is Monday November 2, 2026, with subsequent cut off dates on the Monday of each week. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo

The Advanced MSA supports the Facility with ongoing management of contacting veterans and their caregivers for scheduling, canceling, and re-scheduling appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; preparing for clinic visits; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information; processing records from outside medical care, and obtaining copies of form DD214 (Report of Military Separation) as needed for eligibility and benefit determination. Day to day tasks include, but may not be limited to:

a. Knowledgeably utilizes VA scheduling software including the Electronic Health Record, ISS, VS GUI and Virtual Care Manager in establishing patient appointments within the appropriate desired date.
b. Adheres to scheduling protocol on patient outreach attempts and ensures appointments entered in the Electronic Health Record.
c. Appointments are cancelled/rescheduled according to established protocols and informational note is entered in the Electronic Health Record.
d. Verifies and updates demographic and eligibility information in computer systems.
e. Refers all questions requiring immediate medical or clinical attention to the appropriate health care team member.

The incumbent utilizes various reports to complete assigned tasks, such as EARR (Error Action Required report), referrals and appoitnment reports, and other national, VISN, and locally developed reports. Additional day to day tasks includes, but may not be limited to:

a. Assists in the update, development, and maintenance of program materials, packets, and other printed materials.
b. Assists with the orientation/on the job training of new staff.
c. Completes work orders and contacts appropriate staff when requested to support the environment of care.
d. Prepares correspondence to support the administrative functions of the assigned team; all correspondence is neatly formatted and checked for appropriate spelling and grammar, all documents are the current version, and outgoing Certified mail meets USPS standards.
e. Participates in scheduling/phone audits and reviews to ensure effective scheduling practices.
f. May have other administrative duties assigned, including but not limited to records management

The incumbent provides support for the Health Administration Service and also cross trained in many of the specific job functions of other support staff performing the same duties and providing front desk coverage. This versatility enables the incumbent to provide cross coverage for time sensitive administrative duties needing completion when those staff with primary responsibility are unavailable.

Work Schedule: M-F 7:00am - 3:30pm, 7:30am - 4:00pm, or 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 91463-VS
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available
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)

Basic Requirements:

• United States 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).

• Creditable Experience: One year equivalent to the next lower grade include, but are not limited to: answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit; scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; 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. Coordinating administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.).

• Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education or Post-high school education.
  • You have one of the education levels listed above, but you were in the Medical Support Assistant occupation (GS-0679) on a permanent appointment with the Department of Veterans Affairs as of February 5, 2026, meeting all qualification requirements as part of the grandfathering provision.

Grade Determination:
Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06
Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS5-Full Performance).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate, in their resume, the following KSAs:

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

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

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).

Physical requirements: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts, or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

IMPORTANT: 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/.

• 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 identification 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).
• 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.