Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Huntsville, AL

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Birmingham VA Medical Center operates a 139-bed tertiary care teaching hospital and is dedicated to providing the highest quality of patient care to Veterans in Alabama. The Medical Center provides comprehensive health care through primary care and tertiary care in areas of medicine, surgery, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, oncology, dentistry, geriatrics, blind rehabilitation and is a recognized leader in palliative care and multiple sclerosis.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment.
• Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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 ( https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents ).
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination.
• 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.
• Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Experience: None
• Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).
• Medical Support Assistant, GS-05. Experience or Education. Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; OR Education. Two years of education above high school.
• 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.

Nice To Haves

• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience.

Responsibilities

• Performs a variety of clerical duties in one or more wards/units that provide a variety of medical/surgical services.
• Has knowledge of in-patient procedures and regulations; basic medical terminology, skill in operating computer systems and applications.
• Is responsible for managing administrative processes for admission, discharge and general operations for the assigned unit(s).
• Verifies all orders and notifies the assigned RN of any NOW or STAT order immediately.
• Ensures phone calls for critical patient information are routed immediately to the assigned RN, charge nurse or supervisor immediately.
• Provides medical administrative support to several in-patient wards, including medical and surgical units, palliative care unit and intensive care units; and is an integral member of the inpatient team to effectively carry out day-to-day administrative operations.
• Is responsible for accurate coordination of all administrative information between the professional staff and the patient.
• Ensures that discharge appointments are scheduled, manages transportation, verifies orders, providing all needed documents; admitting, discharging, transferring and managing administrative processes of observation patients.
• Works collaboratively with unit staff, bed management, environmental services and other partners to ensure optimal bed flow.
• Schedules, cancels, re-schedules patient appointments and/or consults.
• Enters no-show information.
• Monitors appointment requests from multiple electronic sources.
• Participates in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic.
• Monitors both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility.
• Verifies and updates demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments.
• Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.).

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
• After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 .
• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

What This Job Offers

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