Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Veterans Health Administration • Omaha, NE

18h • Onsite

About The Position

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant provides clerical and administrative support to the operating room nurse manager, preop/PACU nurse manager, surgery clinic nurse manager, and frontline staff. The role supports patient management and surgery scheduling, collects and analyzes data as requested, participates in performance improvement programs, and performs timekeeping duties.

The position serves as an education liaison for Surgical Services by tracking education requirements and requests and maintaining training, competency, and in-service logs. It provides customer service to patients, families, vendors, surgeons, residents, and staff; supports patient check-in for surgery; and assists vendors with required sign-in and escort procedures. The employee maintains medical charts and reports, handles messages, supports daily-use software, and protects sensitive patient information.

Timekeeping responsibilities include entering and verifying timecards, tracking FMLA, maintaining sign-in sheets and on-call schedules, resolving payroll issues, and coordinating backup coverage. The position also mentors and trains surgery AMSAs, communicates policy and process changes, monitors office equipment, routes calls, and enters and monitors work orders in relevant systems.

This is a full-time position scheduled Monday through Friday, 0700–1530. Telework is not available, and the position is not virtual. Relocation and recruitment incentives and permanent change of station are not authorized.

Requirements

• High school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a state or territorial education board or department.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to GS-5.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology sufficient to understand diagnoses and procedures and communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• Customer-service skill, including identifying customer concerns and referring them to appropriate staff to ensure resolution.
• Ability to use computerized programs and systems to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient-identifying information in electronic health records, scheduling systems, or reports.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently on a wide range of patient-support duties.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and by telephone with internal and external customers.
• Advanced knowledge of technical health care processes related to access to care, including interdisciplinary coordinated care and care-in-the-community models and patient health care portals.
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures for interdisciplinary coordinated care or care-in-the-community operations affecting patient flow and administrative support functions, including appointment cycles, referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, and provider availability.
• Ability to collaborate and communicate with medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to support team goals and patient care.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines and comply with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively with internal and external customers in writing, in person, electronically, and by phone; may include preparing reports, presenting data, and resolving patient concerns.
• U.S. citizenship, except that non-citizens may be appointed when qualified citizens cannot be recruited in accordance with VA policy.
• Registration with Selective Service for males born after December 31, 1959.
• Successful completion of a background/security investigation and the required online onboarding process.
• Provide acceptable identification for pre-employment requirements; beginning May 7, 2025, non-REAL-ID-compliant state identification cards or driver's licenses are not acceptable for this purpose.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program as a VA health care personnel requirement.
• Complete the application requirements described in the announcement's Required Documents section.
• Serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to written certification for continued employment upon completion.
• Submit the required education documentation, such as a high school diploma or transcript, GED certificate, proficiency certificate, or post-high-school education transcript.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a surgery department or clinic.
• Medical Support Assistant (MSA) experience.

Responsibilities

• Track and communicate staff education requirements and requests, and maintain training, competency, and in-service logs for surgery department managers.
• Gather medical information as directed and report backlogs, deadline issues, and uncooperative physicians to managers.
• Identify and resolve customer concerns, follow up on issues, and help address dissatisfaction with VA services.
• Greet patients and family members at the Preop-Op desk, assist with surgery check-in, notify preop nurses, and accompany patients and families to a preoperative bay as directed.
• Greet vendors, assist with vendor tracking system sign-in, provide badges, and escort vendors to the locker room or appropriate operating room as needed.
• Greet surgeons and residents and maintain a courteous, compassionate, and helpful attitude with everyone encountered.
• Maintain medical charts and reports; generate and distribute requested reports and monitor activity.
• Create and respond to messages within 24 hours while on duty, excluding leave, and serve as a technical advisor and liaison for daily-use software.
• Protect sensitive patient information by properly storing PII/PHI.
• Enter and verify timecard information for OR, Preop/PACU, and Surgery Clinic staff, including shifts, leave, on-call time, overtime, and FMLA.
• Maintain FMLA tracking and keep managers informed about requests outside approved occurrences and employees approaching 40 hours of remaining FMLA.
• Create and distribute biweekly employee sign-in sheets, mark scheduled on-call hours, complete timecard corrections, update time-of-duty and call records, and arrange appropriate payroll approvals.
• Submit payroll tickets for timekeeping issues and keep department managers informed of the issue, ticket status, and resolution.
• Coordinate backup timekeeper coverage during leave and communicate coverage plans in advance.
• Mentor surgery AMSAs, learn processes for training and implementation, provide guidance about policy and procedure changes, and conduct orientation or remedial training as needed.
• Resolve daily workplace issues as appropriate.
• Monitor copier and fax machines; answer and route incoming calls using the prescribed greeting.
• Enter and monitor work orders in Maximo, YourIT, Payroll, and other software systems as needed.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package; specific benefits depend on position eligibility and should be confirmed with the hiring agency.
• Annual leave accrual may be credited for prior federal employment or military service if requested and approved before appointment; approval is not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

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