Lead Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Pittsburgh, PA

6d • Onsite

About The Position

The University Drive Pittsburgh VA Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is recruiting a Lead Medical Support Assistant for Surgical Care. The role provides specialized administrative support for Veterans’ outpatient visits, care, and treatments within an interdisciplinary, coordinated care model. It requires administrative judgment and flexible use of clinical flow processes to support access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and community-care resources.

The Lead MSA coordinates scheduling and clinic administration, supports staff and workflow, and communicates with patients and interdisciplinary teams. The role also manages reports and administrative follow-up, assists with patient complaints, and provides staff orientation and training. The position is onsite and is scheduled Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; telework and compressed or flexible schedules are not authorized.

Requirements

• High school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or state/territorial proficiency certificate.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• One year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-6 performing Advanced MSA work, including specialized administrative patient support in an interdisciplinary care model; using clinical flow processes across multiple clinics, specialties, or community-care resources; recommending clinic procedure changes; using advanced patient systems; monitoring and adjusting clinic schedules; and coordinating patient and care-team communications and follow-up.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, or community resources.
• Ability to use advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting.
• Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks and responsibilities to meet deadlines.
• Skill in communicating with individuals to achieve the desired effect and coordinating with interdisciplinary care-team staff.
• Ability to provide staff development and training.
• Ability to manage staffing requirements and workflow priorities, adjust work to meet team and patient needs, follow up on pending issues, and understand the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.
• U.S. citizenship; non-citizens may be appointed only when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under VA policy.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must be registered with Selective Service.
• Successful completion of a background/security investigation and online onboarding requirements.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is required for VA Health Care Personnel.
• Ability to complete the required application documentation and serve a one- or two-year trial period.

Nice To Haves

• Preferred experience as a Medical Support Assistant in the VA.
• Preferred one to two years of experience with VA scheduling programs and appointment management.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialized administrative patient support in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.
• Deliver customer service by responding to inquiries, resolving complex issues, and maintaining satisfaction across diverse client groups.
• Schedule appointments accurately and on time, and complete return-to-clinic orders and recalls.
• Guide staff on policy and procedure changes; distribute and balance workload.
• Provide input in team meetings to help resolve operational and procedural problems.
• Liaise among administrative staff, patients, and interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts.
• Record and monitor leave calendars and perform timekeeping duties.
• Set priorities and deadlines, and adjust work sequencing to meet team and patient needs.
• Monitor assignments, provide performance input, resolve daily workplace issues, and maintain efficient workflow.
• Review data and reports to ensure work is efficient, high quality, and complete.
• Follow scheduling and access policies and procedures, including follow-up on open consults, return-to-clinic orders, actionable reports, and unresolved encounter documentation.
• Enter appropriate information into electronic health records.
• Gather information about patient complaints in GEC programs and assist supervisors with timely resolution.
• Maintain effective communication with patients, interdisciplinary teams, supervisors, and specialty services; collaborate with other services.
• Orient and provide on-the-job training to new and current employees, ensuring training requirements are met.
• Participate in team huddles and meetings; manage clinic reports and perform administrative follow-up.
• Support applicable services, appointment management, and clinic profile management.
• Manage scheduling menus in VISA for appointments in GEC and other specialized programs.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in administrative support applications, including VISTA, VSE, VISTA GUI, Secure Messaging, Consult Tracking Manager (CTM), and PATS-R.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package available to eligible employees and their families.
• Prior work or military service may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, subject to approval.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: High school or GED