Lead Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Rome, GA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Lead Medical Support Assistant (MSA) serves as the lead clerk for Medical Support Assistants, including Advanced Medical Support Assistants, supporting outpatient and specialty clinic operations. Working in an interdisciplinary, coordinated-care environment, the Lead MSA helps ensure patients receive timely, accurate, and customer-focused administrative support. The position coordinates staff assignments and workflow, supports access to care across clinics and specialties, and helps resolve day-to-day scheduling and coverage conflicts.

The role includes daily workload assessments, assigning and distributing work, ensuring adequate staffing coverage, evaluating training records, and identifying staff development needs. The Lead MSA provides guidance on policies, procedures, scheduling requirements, and complex or non-standard processes; may create and maintain employee work schedules; and serves as a liaison among staff, patients, and interdisciplinary team members.

The position monitors schedules, wait lists, recalls, consults, and patient-access activities. It supports timely appointment scheduling, adjusts appointments and coordinates alternative coverage when staffing conflicts arise, and escalates access limitations to a supervisor. The Lead MSA also supports team communication and patient-care planning, provides professional service to Veterans, families, and staff, and ensures sensitive information and applicable safety, security, privacy, and infection-control requirements are observed. The work is primarily sedentary, with some walking, standing, bending, stooping, and carrying small items such as files. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; telework is not available, and the position is not virtual.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under VA policy.
• High school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to GS-6 for the GS-7 grade determination.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources.
• Ability to use numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting.
• Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks and responsibilities, and meet deadlines.
• Skill communicating to achieve desired outcomes 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.
• Must complete the required application steps and online assessment.
• Selected applicants are subject to pre-appointment urinalysis for illegal drug use and must pass a pre-employment physical examination.
• Must meet applicable Selective Service registration requirements for males born after December 31, 1959.
• Subject to background and security investigation and completion of online onboarding requirements.
• Must provide acceptable identification for pre-employment requirements; effective May 7, 2025, non-REAL ID-compliant driver's licenses or state identification cards are not acceptable forms of identification.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is required for VA Health Care Personnel.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, with continued employment dependent on written certification that it advances the public interest.
• Physical requirements include the ability to perform primarily sedentary work, with some walking, standing, bending, stooping, and carrying small items such as files.

Responsibilities

• Lead the daily activities of Medical Support Assistants, including Advanced Medical Support Assistants, supporting one or more outpatient or specialty clinics.
• Assess daily workloads, assign and distribute work, and ensure appropriate staffing and clinic coverage.
• Create and maintain employee work schedules as needed.
• Identify training needs, evaluate training records, and train or guide staff on scheduling requirements, directives, policies, procedures, and administrative responsibilities.
• Assist with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and community resources.
• Maintain and monitor appointment schedules to support timely patient treatment.
• Schedule appointments accurately and promptly, using patient input and coordinating appointments when possible to reduce unnecessary trips to medical centers or clinics.
• Use and monitor the Electronic Waiting List and notify the supervisor when access is limited or patients cannot be scheduled within required timeframes.
• Monitor appointment scheduling, wait lists, recalls, consults, and patient-access activities.
• Adjust appointment times, locations, or dates and coordinate alternative provider coverage when staffing or scheduling conflicts arise.
• Follow up on pending issues and adjust workflow priorities to meet team and patient needs.
• Act as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, patients, and interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary healthcare teams and participate, as assigned, in daily team huddles and weekly interdisciplinary meetings involving patient-care planning and management.
• Provide professional and compassionate customer service to Veterans, families, and staff.
• Safeguard sensitive patient information and follow applicable privacy, safety, security, and infection-control requirements.
• Ensure staff obtain, scan, and update health-insurance information and identify patients with third-party insurance to support revenue collection.

Benefits

• Federal employees and their families have access to a comprehensive benefits package; specific eligibility depends on position type, and applicants are directed to contact the hiring agency for details.
• Selected applicants may qualify to receive credit for prior work or military service toward annual leave accrual, subject to request and approval before appointment and not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

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