Intermittent Medical Support Assistant

Summary

This is an open continuous announcement until December 31st, 2026. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available.

About the Role

The VA NJ Healthcare System has multiple intermittent vacancies for a Medical Support Assistant position with the Community Care unit at the East Orange & Lyons VAMC.

Responsibilities

• Receiving, admitting, scheduling, and providing assistance & direction to Veterans seeking medical care
• Functioning as a fully qualified typist and possessing excellent communication skills
• Absorbing all practice areas and completing the assigned workload within the allotted time frame by setting priorities and meeting deadlines, adjusting the flow, and sequencing the work to meet team and patient needs
• Ensuring each patient is courteously served
• Participating in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care
• Evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient is vested
• Educating providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple i/A's or those who have care in the community) and bringing it to the attention of the provider
• Demonstrating performance and leadership that is broad enough to improve the care of a group of patients
• Working collaboratively with the community care clinical team to ensure the completion of all steps necessary for timely access to care in the community for approved care
• Coordinating care and communicating with the Third-Party Administrator (TPA-Optum) during the entire process from beginning to end
• Ensuring that documents related to the Veterans' care from the community are scanned into CPRS in a timely manner
• Monitoring, trending, and analyzing data, interpreting VA handbooks and directives regarding access/performance improvement/patient flow issues
• Collaborating with the facility Access Coordinator
• Monitoring progress of reviews and follow up on action items to ensure completion in a timely manner

Requirements

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

Qualifications

• Grade Level: GS-3
• Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements for GS-3. GS-4 requires one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade OR education one year of education above high school. GS-5 requires one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade OR education two years of education above high school.
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities:
  • iAbility 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
  • iiAbility to use - and navigate between - various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e. computer systems - web based scheduling programs - insurance collection systems - scanning software - multiple line phone system - electronic faxing programs) to support patient care
  • iiiKnowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients
  • ivSkill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics
• GS-5: Requires one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade OR education two years of education above high school. Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities:
  • iAbility 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
  • iiAdvanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients
  • iiiAbility to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting
  • ivAbility to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work
  • vAbility to communicate effectively and professionally [in person - electronically - and/or by telephone - with internal and external customers]
  • viSkill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns - and refer to the appropriate staff - as necessary - to ensure a satisfactory resolution

Skills

• Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients
• Ability to record patient messages and understand physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics
• 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 communicate effectively and professionally [in person - electronically - and/or by telephone - with internal and external customers]
• Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work
• Ability to collaborate with the community care clinical team to ensure the completion of all steps necessary for timely access to care in the community for approved care
• Ability to coordinate care and communicate with the Third-Party Administrator (TPA-Optum) during the entire process from beginning to end
• Ability to monitor, trend, and analyze data, interpret VA handbooks and directives regarding access/performance improvement/patient flow issues
• Ability to collaborate with the facility Access Coordinator
• Ability to monitor progress of reviews and follow up on action items to ensure completion in a timely manner

Benefits

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.

Pay

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)

Schedule

Monday-Friday 4 hour tours may vary depending on the needs of the service

Telework

Ad-Hoc

Functional Statement #

24924F