Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • San Diego, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Medical Support Assistant serves in Employee Occupational Health at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, within the Chief of Staff service line. The facility is designated Level 1A and includes outpatient clinics across a large geographic region, with affiliations to several colleges and universities. Employee Occupational Health protects employees through prevention, safety, and workplace health programs.

The MSA supports occupational health services by scheduling and managing tests, registering eligible staff, documenting information in employee health records, and coordinating information with customers and clinical personnel. The position is full-time, onsite, and scheduled Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The full performance level is GS-05; selection may be at GS-03, GS-04, or GS-05.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, except that non-citizens may be appointed when qualified citizens cannot be recruited in accordance with VA policy.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• High school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or state or territorial proficiency certificate, or qualification under the applicable VHA grandfathering provision.
• Meet the experience or education qualification for the selected grade: GS-03 requires no experience or education beyond the basic requirements; GS-04 requires one year of creditable experience equivalent to GS-03 or one year of education above high school; GS-05 requires one year of creditable experience equivalent to GS-04 or two years of education above high school.
• For GS-04, demonstrate basic medical terminology knowledge; skill recording patient messages and understanding physician follow-up requests; courteous communication with people from varying backgrounds and healthcare team members; and ability to use and navigate office automation equipment and software.
• For GS-05, demonstrate advanced medical terminology knowledge; customer-service skill and ability to refer concerns appropriately; ability to use computerized systems to handle sensitive medical and identifying information; ability to schedule medical appointments; ability to work independently across varied patient-support duties; and professional communication in person, electronically, or by telephone.
• Meet applicable background and security investigation requirements and pass a pre-employment physical evaluation or examination.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Complete the required application and onboarding requirements; provide acceptable identification for employment verification.
• Serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to written certification that continued employment advances the public interest.

Responsibilities

• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule tests according to scheduling guidelines, requests, consults, and direction from occupational health designees.
• Verify orders and employee records as appropriate.
• Interact with internal and external customers to achieve desired outcomes.
• Register staff eligible for employee occupational health services, including COVID-19 testing.
• Enter templated administrative notes into employee health records.
• Obtain medical information from patients and accurately document it in the appropriate system, communicating it promptly and accurately to appropriate personnel.
• Ensure clinicians complete encounter forms to obtain workload credit.
• Upload records from sources including Access and Excel into the employee health medical record (OHM).
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service, subject to approval.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment, in connection with birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
• Potential childcare subsidy after 60 days for qualifying full-time employees and families, up to 25% of eligible childcare costs and subject to eligibility and monthly maximums.
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting, and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs may be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

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