Lead Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The Lead Medical Support Assistants are located in Health Administration Service (HAS). Lead Medical Support Assistants are responsible for performing a variety of technical and administrative support duties that facilitate the work of physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nursing assistants, and other members of the medical facility who provide direct patient care and the chief source of patient information.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

06/28/2024 to 07/19/2024

• Salary

$57,405 - $74,629 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 7

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Locations

4 vacancies in the following locations:

• Horsham, PA 1 vacancy

• Philadelphia, PA 3 vacancies

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

No

• Travel Required

50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.

• 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

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

CBSZ-12460712-24-NRG

• Control number

797827900

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This job is open to

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs

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Duties

The Lead Medical Support Assistant (MSA) is responsible for answering questions for lower graded staff relating to healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. The Lead MSA monitors and makes work assignments, trains employees on scheduling practices. provides input on performance, resolves daily workplace issues, maintains efficient workflow and creates a positive work environment. Duties include but are not limited to:

• Daily workload assessments, assigning work, and assuring proper staffing coverage;

• Responsible for training MSA's on scheduling practices

• Evaluating training records and determining training needs of MSAs to provide support across interdisciplinary settings;

• Assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources;

• Ensures accurate and timely scheduling of appointments;

• Acting as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, MSA staff, patients and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day to day conflicts;

• Provides comprehensive, detailed, on the job training to all new clinic personnel in the clinic unit area;

• Monitors and typically schedules, cancels, and re-schedules patients' appointments and/or consults, enters no-show information, monitors the electronic wait list, prepares for clinic visits, monitors both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility, ensures that encounter forms are completed in order to obtain appropriate workload credit, verifies and updates demographics and insurance information, processes all emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or to private hospitals (where applicable), and performs/facilitates basic eligibility.

NOTE: Three positions are available for the Philadelphia VA Location. One position is available for the Horseham CBOC

Position Details:

Work Schedule 1 Philadelphia: 8:00AM-4:30PM Monday- Friday

Work Schedule 2 Philadelphia : 8:00AM-4:30PM Monday- Friday

Work Schedule 3 Philadelphia: Rotating Shifts, Including Rotating Weekends and Holidays

Work Schedule 4 Horsham: 8:00AM-4:30PM Monday- Friday

Travel (Horsham): The selectee for the Horsham CBOC will be required to travel to other CBOCs 50% or more of the time.

Travel (Philadelphia): There is no travel requirement for the Philadelphia VA positions.

Telework: Not Authorized

Virtual: Not Authorized

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.

• 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

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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

• English Language Proficiency. MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.

• Experience and Education.

• 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,

• Education. One year above high school; OR,

• Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

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: Lead Medical Support Assistant (GS-7):Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines; expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems; coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability; develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies; processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers; enters appropriate information into the electronic record; monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure; manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; and informs team members about shared patients.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources.

• Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting.

• Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines.

• Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.

• Ability to provide staff development and training.

• Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.

References: VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard

Physical Requirements: Work is performed in an office setting and is primarily sedentary. May require lifting and carrying of light loads (e.g. files, records, etc.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

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.

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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.