Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Des Moines, IA

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) provides administrative and patient-support services in inpatient settings, including ICU/Telemetry and Medical Surgical floors. The position supports access to care, appointment coordination, collection and updating of demographic and insurance information, patient processing, and customer service. The MSA also helps ensure staffing, training, compliance, reporting, and quality-assurance activities are completed.

The MSA promotes patient-centered care and supports patient safety by correctly identifying patients using two forms of identification. The role assists patients, families, and multidisciplinary staff while maintaining unit flow, handling calls and requests, and processing provider orders, records, faxes, and mail. The MSA manages unit schedules and documentation, prepares admission and discharge materials, and maintains supplies and a clean, secure work area. Work is performed with guidance from more experienced staff to help prioritize and sequence responsibilities. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 3:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., with alternating weekends and holidays. Telework is not available; the position is not virtual.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception for appointment when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Meet the Medical Support Assistant basic requirements: no experience is required, or a high school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or state/territorial proficiency certificate.
• For GS-04 consideration: one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade, or one year of education above high school, plus the stated knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• For GS-05 consideration: one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade, or two years of education above high school, plus the stated knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• For GS-04, knowledge of basic medical terminology; skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests concerning follow-up care; courteous communication with people from varied backgrounds and healthcare team members; and ability to use and navigate office automation equipment and software.
• For GS-05, advanced medical terminology knowledge sufficient to understand diagnoses and procedures and communicate clinical staff instructions to patients; customer-service skill, including identifying concerns and referring them appropriately; ability to use computerized systems to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient-identifying information; ability to schedule clinical appointments; ability to work independently across a wide variety of patient-support duties; and professional communication in person, electronically, and by telephone.
• Complete the application, questionnaire, required online assessment, and required application-document steps.
• Meet background and security investigation requirements and complete online onboarding and pre-employment identification requirements.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program as required for VA Health Care Personnel.
• Serve a one- or two-year trial period, as applicable.
• Meet the stated physical requirements; physical-demand or environmental-factor questions may be addressed during pre-employment evaluation.
• Foreign education used to meet qualifications must be evaluated as equivalent to U.S. education by a private credential-evaluation organization; a certificate of foreign equivalency and transcript must be submitted when applicable.

Responsibilities

• Promote patient-centered care and perform receptionist, customer-service, and other duties that support timely patient treatment.
• Support patient safety by correctly identifying patients using two forms of identification.
• Assist patients, family members, and multidisciplinary staff while maintaining unit flow.
• Provide prompt, friendly, cooperative customer and patient services.
• Answer, receive, and route phone calls courteously and in a timely manner; determine the nature of requests and provide information consistent with privacy rules and unit processes.
• Explain procedures to Veterans and family members in a caring, compassionate, and sensitive manner, in person and by phone.
• Retrieve outside-provider records and manage faxes, provider orders, and mail in a timely manner.
• Process provider orders consistently within one hour of receipt; hand-deliver STAT, NOW, or ASAP orders to the charge nurse or, if unavailable, the nurse on the patient's neighborhood.
• Manage responsibilities with guidance from experienced staff, helping set priorities and deadlines and adjust work sequencing to meet team and patient needs.
• Enter correct providers and treating specialties.
• Enter interward transfers, admissions, and discharges, and keep the admission and discharge log updated.
• Maintain the schedule for interdisciplinary team meetings and notify team members by email of schedules and changes.
• Maintain and post the appointment sheet daily.
• Prepare admission packets before patient arrival and prepare complete discharge packets before discharge.
• Maintain and order clerical supplies, ensuring adequate stock without waste or overstocking.
• Maintain a clean and safe work area.
• Keep the work area secure and question unrecognized people in secured areas who are not displaying identification badges.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package; specific benefits depend on position type and eligibility.
• Selected applicants may qualify to request credit for prior work or military service toward annual leave accrual, subject to approval.

What This Job Offers

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