Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

The incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant in VISN 2 Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service in the VA New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network. The incumbent performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information. The incumbent will interface with personal computer (PC) applications as well as numerous Vista applications and Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service software applications. VA Careers • Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo VA Careers • Prosthetics: https://youtube.com/embed/3NUvF5jjErQ P&SA Service Support: Incumbent will work primarily at the VA Medical Center Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service customer service office. Incumbent is responsible for receiving and directing all incoming and outgoing phone calls. Incumbent is responsible to distribute, collect and forward Prosthetic Patient Customer Service surveys. Displays and/or develops prosthetic and sensory aid informational handouts for ease of patient understanding. Incumbent advises on selected nonmedical benefits of a routine nature and refers Veterans as needed to Prosthetic Representative or Purchasing Staff. Incumbent will receive all mail. Incumbent will coordinate Prosthetic staff schedules, VA Police and parking permissions for all approved in-service requests. Incumbent composes, edits letters and/or performs various administrative functions for Chief or Assistant Chief of Prosthetics. Scheduling and Clinic Support: Incumbent is responsible for using the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service appointment schedule which involves scheduling patients by referral (consults), from another clinic as a walk-in, telephone requests, and inpatient hospital calls or prior to discharge if needed. Incumbent will review patient's record, schedule patient for appointment if appropriate, and keep listing of backorder items. Incumbent is responsible for reviewing the daily schedule to identify those patients failing to report for clinic appointment. Incumbent is responsible for reviewing the daily VISTA mail system to determine those patients that have requested cancellation or reschedule of appointments. Incumbent is responsible to contact patients to reschedule missed appointments. Incumbent reschedules clinics that are canceled and prepares notices for patients on initial or rescheduled appointments. Incumbent is responsible for scheduling appointments for clinics conducted by Prosthetic practitioners. Incumbent reviews delayed order report (DOR) and distributes consults, when necessary to appropriate practitioners for continued review/action. Purchasing Support: Incumbent performs purchasing activity as needed and reviews daily alerts to ensure timely response and action. Utilizing prosthetic purchasing screens will identify by looking up the purchase order, the purchase agents to provide incoming invoices and distribute accordingly. As necessary, they will notify Prosthetic Purchase Staff when Veterans request either by phone or in person prosthetic items. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00am • 4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc Only, will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 21K60-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Experience: None. Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education. Foreign 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 credentials. Licensure/Certification/Registration: None. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grandfathering Provision: Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/ placements. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified. Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06. Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, you must have (1) one year of creditable experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of creditable experience would typically include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, and rescheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic; monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; and verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments. Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals, and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.). AND, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) 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. (b) 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. (c) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. (d) 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. (e) Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. (f) 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 organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is at the GS-06 grade level. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.