Qualifications

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)
• Grade Determinations: GS-5 Medical Support Assistant (Full Performance Level) Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-4 grade) which is experience in clerical, office, customer service or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the Medical Support Assistant (MSA) position
• Examples of experience 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 VA Handbook 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 in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system
• obtaining medical information from patients
• coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services
• and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• MSAs at this level refer all questions regarding medical attention to the appropriate health care team member
• Note: Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to Medical Support Assistant experience or an equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level OR Education: Two years of education above high school AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Candidates must demonstrate 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
• 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is 05
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is 05
• 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.