Medical Support Assistant

Full Job Description

The incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) in the Outpatient Clinic Operations section, Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System in Nashville, TN and reports to the Supervisory Medical Support Assistant, Outpatient Clinic Operations of both Primary Care and Specialty areas of the service.

The incumbent performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health administrative information.

1 Vacancy for Clarksville 3 Vacancies for Nashville 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. 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.

Licensure/Certification/Registration. None English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

GS-05 - Grade Determination Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level.

Creditable experience at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints; interacting with both internal and external customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance and updating information; obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointments in accordance with scheduling guidelines.

OR, Education. Two years of education above high school. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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.

Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.

Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.

Ability to communicate effectively and professionally [in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.

Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

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.

References: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5.

Physical Requirements: 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 hours or on days that have a large volume of activity.

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Major Duties:

Medical Support Assistant: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdf Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major duties include, but are not limited to: Schedules appointments, including interpreting, and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

Plans and organizes work general assistance from the supervisor as to meet local and VA - wide time frames to complete analysis requirements, reports and special assignments.

Reports backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty in securing information from clinicians or the record.

Maintains the confidentiality of information obtained to carry out required duties.

Communicates with physicians, case managers, and other allied health professional staff using sound interpersonal skills and is constantly aware of the sensitive information.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.

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 Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 70614F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized