Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Summary

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) who assists Veterans in managing their outpatient appointments and provides support in care and treatment.

About the Role

Works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery environment. Handles multiple phone lines in an inpatient care setting, ensuring calls are forwarded to the correct staff members. Develops and maintains effective and efficient communication with patients, interdisciplinary teams, management, VA medical centers, and other agencies. Performs administrative duties, trains other MSAs on correct operations, and serves as a preceptor to developmental level MSAs. Schedules appointments, notifies supervisors when clinic area access is inadequate or if a patient cannot be scheduled within the required timeframe. Processes physician orders from CPRS and verifies orders in CPRS upon completion. Organizes work independently and handles administrative and scheduling problems based on personal knowledge of operations and policy.

Responsibilities

• Schedule appointments and notify supervisors when clinic area access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated timeframes.
• Process physician orders from CPRS and verify orders in CPRS upon completion.
• Organize work independently and handle administrative and scheduling problems based on personal knowledge of operations and policy.
• Communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers.
• Set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to ensure medical care to patients is met.

Requirements

• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level.
• Knowledge of the technical health care process, policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and administrative functions to include 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.

Qualifications

• 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).

Skills

• Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including 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 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.

Benefits

• Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time off 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 Available.
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Total Rewards

• Duties include but not limited to: Works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery environment (i.e. patient aligned care team or other specialty care); Handle multiple phone lines on in an inpatient care setting, ensuring these calls are forwarded to correct staff members; Develop/maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, management team, VA medical centers, and other agencies; Perform administrative duties; Train other MSAs on correct operations and serve as a preceptor to developmental level MSAs; Schedule appointments; Notify supervisors when clinic area access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated timeframes; Process physician orders from CPRS and verify orders in CPRS upon completion; Organize work independently and handle administrative and scheduling problems and deviations based on personal knowledge of operations and policy; Schedules; Notifies supervisors when clinic area access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated timeframes; Processes physician orders from CPRS and verifies orders in CPRS upon completion; Organizes work independently and handles administrative and scheduling problems based on personal knowledge of operations and policy; Communicates tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers; Sets priorities and organizes work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations; Collaborates and communicates with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to ensure medical care to patients is met.