Advanced Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The incumbent will serve as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant in the Outpatient Clinic Unit of Ambulatory Care & Processing Section of Health Administration Service. S/he will work at a two-divisional teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Kentucky Medical Center at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lexington, KY. Incumbent will normally work at one of the locations for the two divisions, with a primary duty station located at the Leestown Road Division.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

05/01/2024 to 05/06/2024

• Salary

$46,515 - $60,472 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 6

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Lexington, KY 1 vacancy

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

No

• Travel Required

Not required

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent -

• Work schedule

Full-time -

• Service

Excepted

• Promotion potential

None

• Job family (Series)

0679 Medical Support Assistance

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Not Required

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Credentialing

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

CBTG-12405916-24-LGC

• Control number

789475800

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This job is open to

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent employees of the Lexington VA Healthcare System. This a re-announcement of CBTG-12359573-24-LGC. You must reapply for consideration. NOTE: A current (2024), non-award SF-50 must be submitted for verification.

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Duties

Duties include but not limited to:

• Works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery environment (i.e., patient aligned care team, or other specialty care.

• Coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary).

• Ensure that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments.

• Develop/maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, management team, VA medical centers, and other agencies.

• Collect, scans, and updates health insurance information, promote Veteran registration and utilization of My HealthyVet (MHV).

• Train other MSAs on correct clinic operations and serve as a preceptor to developmental level MSAs.

• Schedule appointments; notifies his/her supervisor when clinic area access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated timeframes.

• Daily review of active/pending Consults, Encounters, Electronic Wait List, Recall list and MHV secure messaging communications for accuracy and disposition.

• Report backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty in securing information from clinicians or Employee plans

• Organizes work independently and handles scheduling problems and deviations based on personal knowledge of clinic operations and policy, schedules, and provider's preferences.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday

• Friday, 8:00am

• 4:30pm

Telework: Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.

• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

• 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.

• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.

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.

• Education or Training: 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 One year above high school; OR Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

• Physical Requirements: Must pass a pre-employment physical per VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

• English Language Proficiency: MSA's must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.

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: In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the following grade requirements. GS-06 Medical Support Assistant (Advanced). You must have one year of experience equivalent to the GS-05 level. Examples of specialized experience 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 VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status.

AND

In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must also demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) below:

• 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.

References: VA Handbook 5005/117 Part II Appendix G45. Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard GS-679.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-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.

Education

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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• Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window

Learn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.