Advanced Medical Support Assistant

About the role

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) with the Acute Care Department provides all administrative support for the emergency department. The administrative aspect of patient care includes access, coordinating transfers in and out of the emergency department, patient processing, and customer service.

Responsibilities

• Answer phones and direct phone calls.
• Completes all tasks related to admission, discharge, and transfer of patients.
• Filing patient information in a timely manner.
• Contacting physicians for order clarification.
• Aid nurses with administrative requests.
• Knowledge of policies and procedures affecting the emergency department.
• Communicate with patients, family, and the general public in a courteous, tactful, and helpful manner.
• Aid in patient transfers.
• Utilize multiple computer-based programs with high degree of accuracy.
• Ensure patient privacy by disposing of sensitive patient-related information.
• Participate in required meetings/huddles.
• Additional duties or tasks as assigned.

Requirements

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies, and all US Citizens. The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Qualifications

• Basic Requirements:
• Citizenship: Citizen of the United States.
• Licensure/Certification/Registration: None.
• Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Specialized Experience:
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level that equips the candidate with the following:
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): 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.
• Two years of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level that equips the candidate with the following:
• 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.
• 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 organizations.