Medical Support Assistant

The MSA performs duties related to support of services on the inpatient med-surgical, critical care, psychiatric, extended, and PACU care units of the hospital. The employee performs clerical/administrative duties that support the inpatient care processes during the length of stay. The MSA is an integral part of the interdisciplinary team and provides support for the care process across the division.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 : 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 and/or Education requirement
  • Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; or
  • Education. Two years above high school
• 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).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable o current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations : Medical Support Assistant, GS-3

• Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-4

• Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade. Examples of credible experience at this level include, but are not limited to: apply general rules and policies relating to clinic functions, staff, and automated data processing methods in support of treatment to patients, utilize a variety of patient data systems in scheduling patients for treatment and annotate patient records; performs front desk duties, receive telephone call, and visitors to the clinic, make and cancel appointments, review patient records for necessary information, and review patient demographics and insurance verification; and consult with clinic staff when processing physician scheduling and administrative orders; OR,
• Education. One years of education above high school.

AND

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
• Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
• Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.
• Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.
• Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e., computer systems, web-based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.

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:
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
• 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.
• 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.

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.

Preferred Experience: None

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit .

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5 . The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5 .

Physical Requirements: The work is mainly sedentary but requires some bending, walking, standing and the carrying of such things as patient records, supplies and inter-office mail. 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: . 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: .