Supervisory Medical Support Assistant

Full Job Description

This position is assigned to Psychiatry and Psychology Services of Mental Health & Behavioral Medicine at the Central Texas VA Health Care System.

The Supervisory Medical Support Assistant (MSA) serves as supervisor for all Lead, Advanced, and MSAs.

Provides supervisory medical support assistance on administrative matters affecting patient care, education, organizational policy, and programmatic tasks associated with maintaining and supporting the work performed by mental health programs.

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 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. English Language Proficiency.

Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f) 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.

Grade Determinations: Supervisory Medical Support Assistant, GS-8 Experience.

One year of experience equivalent to the [GS-7] grade level leading or supervising MSAs or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a non-VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting.

Assignment. Supervisory MSAs at this level plan and direct programs at medical centers and/or satellite outpatient clinics.

They have full responsibility for supervising at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a non-VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting.

Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving complex problems to ensure patient services are met; evaluating new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improved operations; identifying educational or training needs; making final decisions on hiring selections; evaluating performance, and taking disciplinary action when necessary.

The employee has administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the subordinate lead, supervisor, and MSA's activities.

Responsible for extracting and analyzing data to provide reports to senior management in support of tracking measures.

For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

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

Ability to provide the full range of administrative and supervisory duties to at least one subordinate MSA supervisor or team leader in a patient support setting which includes assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation of awards and/or advancements.

ii.

Ability to collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate customer service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers to ensure quality/continuity of care and ensure compliance with established policies and regulations.

iii. Ability to provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training [in a patient support setting. iv.

Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs. v. Advanced knowledge of managing or leading patient support staff in a clinic.

This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.

Preferred Experience: Experience as a Supervisory MSA within the VHA Experience conducting training on CPRS, VISTA, and VISTA GUI Skilled at multi-tasking, and working under the pressure of multiple responsibilities with deadlines Excellent customer service skills (internal and external customers) Experience planning, organizing, and directing the workflow of AMSA staff based on analysis of data Microsoft Office experience with proficiency in Excel Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-08. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary.

Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work.

Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site.

Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. Major Duties:

Major duties include, but are not limited to: Incumbent must screen/receive phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of requests and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes.

A caring, compassionate and sensitive manner is essential when explaining procedures to veterans and their family members both in person and on the phone.

Uses courtesy in all communications at the time of call to verify and update demographics, including address, phone number, next of kin, and emergency contacts and that all information is updated through Pre-Registration screen in VISTA.

Assures front line contact with patients and staff by setting the tone for perception concerning quality of healthcare services at the VA.

Receives and processes patients and visitors, upon check-in (including self-report measures/data forms and medication reconciliation lists if appropriate) and check-out.

Supports patient safety standards using the correct Veterans Affairs identification of all patients through the use of two forms of identification, name and full Social Security Number.

Assures MSA staff explains the VA's mandate to collect insurance information to veterans, their families, and other eligible patients.

Assures staff collects, scans, and updates health insurance information serving a major role in the revenue process.

The incumbent contributes to the revenue collection process by identifying patients with third party insurance. Promotes veteran registration for and utilization of MyHealtheVet (MHV).

Required to train other MSA levels on the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) process. Serves as an administrative liaison and provides direction to staff, residents/trainees, and volunteers.

Assists the Site Chief and Supervisory Clinical Psychologist, Administrative Officers, Supervisors, Program Managers, MH&BM Leadership in performance measures, suspense items, and deadline responsibilities in a timely manner.

Assist with clinic access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times, location, or dates as well as shift patients to other healthcare providers as conflict with staffing and/or coverage occurs.

Consults with Human Resources on Labor Relations issues and vacancies. Coordinate ERC request with the Administrative Officer for submission.

Review and process open text orders on a daily basis, verifying in CPRS completion of orders, generates open text order report weekly (or more often if indicated), and utilizes the report to ensure all text orders are completed in a timely fashion.

The incumbent is responsible for reminding program staff of incomplete encounters, unsigned notes, and discharge summaries, requiring action.

Responsible for running Encounter Action Required Report (EARR) report as needed.

Incumbent must be able to train staff on the requirements of VHA Scheduling Directives and complete accurate scheduling responsibilities: Schedule appointments and utilize the Electronic Waiting List accurately in a timely manner.

All appointments will be made with the patient's input, either in person or by phone.

This may require a high level of coordination to avoid patients having to make multiple trips to the medical center or clinic whenever possible.

Notifies his/her supervisor when clinic access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes.

Daily review of active/pending consults, Electronic Wait List, Recall list and Audiocare communications, kiosk validation, No-Show for accuracy and disposition.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 0730-1600 or 0800-1630 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) 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: Available for Ad-Hoc Telework Only Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized