Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

The James A. Haley VA Medical Center Dental Service provides care to both outpatients and inpatients at the Temple Terrace VA Clinic. The Dental Service provides comprehensive, focused care and consultative services to the eligible Veteran population. The complexity of care provided at these locations includes: general dentistry, endodontics, oral surgery, prosthodontics, oral & maxillofacial prosthodontics, and periodontics. This care is provided by staff dentists and specialty providers.

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 with VA Policy.

Experience:

None.

Education:

High school diploma OR high school transcript (unofficial or official) OR General Education Development equivalency certificate OR homeschooling completion OR proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education OR college transcript (official). Licensure/Certification/Registration. None 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).

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.

Grade Determinations :

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6

Experience:

One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level that equips the candidate with the following : 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; Schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting; Work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work; Communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers; Customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): 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 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, and patient support care administrative functions (to include, but not limited to) appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc. (6) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of the language utilized by clinicians.

Reference:

VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45, dated August 1, 2019. Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard GS-0679. 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:

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant work is mostly sedentary; however, some walking; standing, and carrying light items are required. Light filing, sometimes involving working close to the floor, is involved. Wrist and back protection can be provided to minimize the risks associated with prolonged use of automated data processing equipment.