Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) - Primary Care

Summary The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) at the Bismarck VA Clinic and provides clerical administrative support in the coordination - care - and treatment provided to patients throughout the Primary Care Integrated Clinical Community (ICC) - to include coverage of all Primary Care clinics including Women's Health as well as the Front Desk/Emergency Department as needed. Qualifications To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/02/2026. Medical Support Assistant Basic Requirements Citizenship: Citizen of the United States(Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance to 38 U.S.C.7407(a)Experience and Education: Experience: NoneOR Education: High school diploma - General Education Development equivalency certificate - or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of EducationLicensure/Certification/Registration: NoneForeign Education: To be creditable - education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentialsPhysical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service for requirementsEnglish Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C.7403(f)Foreign EducationTo be creditable - education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programsGrade Determinations: Creditable Experience: To be creditable - the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge - skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient settingExperience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic settingPart-Time Experience: Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship for the full-time workweekFor example - an MSA employed 20 hours a week - or on a 1/2-time basis - would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of serviceQuality of Experience: Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade levelFor all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - administrative independence - complexity (difficulty) - and range of varieties as described in this standard - at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the timeIn addition to meeting the Basic Requirements - candidates must possess the required specialized experience and be able to demonstrate all Knowledge - Skills and Abilities (KSAs) as summarized belowGS-5 Grade 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: Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patientsSkill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns - and refer to the appropriate staff - as necessary - to ensure a satisfactory resolutionAbility 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 reportsAbility to schedule medical appointments in a clinical settingAbility to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support workAbility to communicate effectively and professionally in person - electronically - and/or by telephone - with internal and external customersAND GS-6 Grade Requirements: Candidates must be able to also demonstrate all of the knowledge - skills and abilities below (KSAs): 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 careAdvanced 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 - etcAdvanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by cliniciansAbility 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 metAbility to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines - ensuring compliance with established processes - policies - and regulationsAbility to communicate tactfully and effectively - electronically - by phone - in person - and in writing - with internal and external customersThis may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels - as well as resolving patient concernsReferences: VA Qualification Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO)The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6 You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this positionQuestions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. Duties VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo Major duties include (but not limited to): Provides specialized and expert administrative patient care while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery modelWork involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics - specialties - and/or care in the community resourcesRecommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines and has expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery modelCoordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability and utilization to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics and makes recommendations for change as necessaryDevelop and maintain effective communication with the patient - interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams - VA medical centers - and other agencies (e.g. - assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge - communicate with non-VA medical facilities - manage a system for follow-up care such as consults - tests - procedures etc.)Scheduling - canceling - and rescheduling patient appointments and/or consults - this includes telehealth and Video appointments (VVC)entering no-show informationmonitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources - processing incoming patient communication in multiple formats and coordinating with care team as appropriateParticipates in team huddles and team meetings to manage - plan - problem solve - and follow up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary teamsets priorities and deadlines - adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needsMust maintain tactful and effective communication [electronically - by phone - in person and in writing] to accomplish team goals and ensure that medical care to patients is metWork Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual positionFunctional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized