Advanced Medical Support Assistant
What you'd do
This position is aligned under Medical Administration Service (MAS), the largest administrative department in the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (NF/SGVHS).
Major duties
VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo Duties and program responsibilities include but not limited to the following: Scheduling, Rescheduling or Cancelling Appointments. Incumbent receives incoming calls and provides telephone customer service by rescheduling or cancelling appointments (for any appointment). Operates CISCO phone along with CISCO Finesse application during administrative and non-administrative duty hours. Receives and distributes incoming calls. Assists callers with questions about the Medical Centers, Outpatient Clinics and Community-Based Outpatient Clinics throughout North Florida/South Georgia. Uses a personal computer to retrieve information from VistA & Outlook as needed to direct calls in a timely and accurate manner. The type of calls handled includes a full range of local, long distance, Federal Telephone System (FTS), conference calls, emergencies and tie-line circuits. Provide organizational information to in-house, as well as incoming callers using VistA, Outlook and employee directories in the computer (or printed directories). The employee is expected to handle, on a regular basis, difficult calls that require extensive personal involvement. Examples include: calls for emergencies such as code blue, code grey, emergency response team (ERT), ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) alerts, fire, bomb threats or other services; calls requiring tactful handling of confused, abusive or threatening individuals; calls from staff requesting nonemergency response by police or fire to a variety of situations; calls from the irate beneficiaries regarding appointments, lack of treatment, etc.; and calls from mentally incompetent, alcohol or drug addicted persons who require special attention by the operator while attempting to locate the correct social services personnel to handle the call. Deal with multiple phone calls or situations simultaneously, while remaining calm in stressful situations. The incumbent must have a keen awareness of radio traffic occurring throughout their tour of duty and display quick decision-making skills. The pace of the phone system is such that incoming and outgoing calls must be handled with speed and accuracy. Several calls must be handled simultaneously and difficult calls requiring prolonged personal involvement must be handled without assistance from the supervisor, who is not at the switchboard all the time. Serves as a focal point of activity during his or her tour of duty. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) 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. Functional Statement #: 51006F
What you need to qualify
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: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j Valid Florida unrestricted drivers license 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). Experience. 1 year experience of 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 position; OR, Education. One year above high school and 1 year Microsoft Office Suite experience; 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. OR, Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Certification: None required. Grandfathering Provision: 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). Foreign Education: To 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. programs. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Grade Determinations: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-679-06 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. 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 setting. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting. 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 level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and a range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. 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 to the full-time workweek. For 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 service. Assignment. The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work 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 resources. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient 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; prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.). Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate; participates 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 team]; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers; as needed; assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions; enters appropriate information into the electronic record. For all [assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity difficulty, and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 1. 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. 2. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, etc. 6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. 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-6. Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for this occupation, see duty section for essential duties of this position. May require standing, lifting up to 50lbs carrying, sitting. stooping, bending, pulling and pushing.
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