Medical Support Assistant

The position serves as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) on the inpatient wards and is under the supervision of the Ward Administration Supervisor. The occupation involves technical work concerned with processing doctor's orders and maintenance of medical records as well as all patient movements throughout the patient's hospital stay to include discharge and /or transfer of patient to other facilities.

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 :

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. None. Education. 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. 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 reentry to the occupation. Experience. Creditable Experience. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of 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 or non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting. Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to a full-time workweek. For example, an individual employed 20 hours per week, or on a half-time basis, would receive credit for 1 full-time workweek for each 2 weeks of service. Quality 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 level of the position being filled. For all assignments above the full performance level (FPL), the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, 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.

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, GS-05.Experience or Education. Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; OR Education. Two years of education above high school. AND Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate MUST demonstrate the following

KSAs:

Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution. 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. 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.

Physical Requirements:

The work is primarily sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying light items such as papers, books and small parts, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5. The actual grade at which an applicant will be selected for this vacancy is GS-5. ???????

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ .