Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Veterans Health Administration • Des Moines, IA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant assigned to a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model or a Specialty Care Setting involved in a PACT model. The PACT team let is a primary care team that generally consists of a primary care provider (MD, NP, PA), registered nurse care manager, clinical associate (LPN or medical assistant/health technician) and an administrative associate (MA/MSA/health technician).

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Must complete all required steps in the process.
• In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment.
• The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• Will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period.
• Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Experience and Education: Experience: None. OR 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.
• Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• 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.
• 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.
• Part-Time Experience : 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 for the full-time workweek.
• 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.
• For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
• 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.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary), ensure that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments.
• Develop/maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge. Communicate with non-VA medical facilities; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team; notify patients of normal lab results; develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.).
• Participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.
• Work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record; monitoring pre appointment requirements to ensure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work).
• Managing electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings.
• Performing administrative follow up actions; participating in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to ensure continuity of care.
• Evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested; educating providers about shared patients.

Benefits

• A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package.
• As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.
• Learn more about federal benefits.
• Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent.
• Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

What This Job Offers

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