Supervisory Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Chicago, IL

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Supervisory Medical Support Assistant (MSA) oversees subordinate Advanced MSAs and directs administrative patient-support activities in a medical center, outpatient clinic, or interdisciplinary setting. The role supports timely access to care by coordinating administrative information between professional staff and patients, managing appointment scheduling and clinic closures, and ensuring accurate patient and appointment records. The supervisor assigns and balances workloads, ensures staff coverage, provides guidance and training, reviews work quality, and addresses performance and staffing matters. The position also collaborates with facility programs and the interprofessional care team to resolve operational issues and support continuity of patient care. The work is mostly sedentary and includes travel throughout the medical center to interact with staff and attend meetings. The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and every other weekend. Telework and virtual work are not available.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated VA policy exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• High school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or state- or territorial-level proficiency certificate.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to GS-07 leading or supervising MSAs or equivalent administrative patient-support staff in a medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting.
• Advanced knowledge of managing or leading patient-support staff in a clinic, including independent use of reference sources, decision-making, and enabling team problem-solving in complex systems.
• Ability to perform supervisory duties for at least one subordinate MSA supervisor or team leader, including work assignment, performance evaluations, staff selection, and recommendations for awards or advancement.
• Ability to collaborate, communicate, and provide customer service to internal and external customers while supporting continuity and quality of care and compliance with policies and regulations.
• Ability to provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training in a patient-support setting.
• Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical evaluation and background/security investigation.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Must complete required application and onboarding requirements and serve a one- or two-year trial period.
• Must meet federal identification requirements for employment.

Nice To Haves

• One year of experience equivalent to GS-07 leading or supervising MSAs or equivalent administrative patient-support staff in a non-VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting.

Responsibilities

• Supervise subordinate Advanced Medical Support Assistants and direct their administrative and professional activities.
• Evaluate subordinate staff work and resolve complex problems to ensure patient services are met.
• Assess and balance workloads, assign work, and ensure coverage of all areas of responsibility.
• Ensure accurate and timely appointment scheduling and accurate patient movement reporting.
• Manage clinic closures, appointment blocking, and cancellations.
• Provide staff guidance on policy and procedure changes and serve as a liaison to resolve day-to-day conflicts.
• Orient and train new and current employees, identify training needs, and ensure required training is completed.
• Conduct ongoing reviews and audits to ensure quality of work.
• Make final hiring selections, evaluate performance, and take disciplinary action when necessary.
• Collaborate with facility programs and interprofessional care-team members to facilitate access to care through available contact methods, including telephone, secure messaging, chat, text messaging, and videoconferencing.
• Coordinate administrative information between professional staff and patients, including demographic verification, insurance information, data entry, consultation requests, and appointment notifications.
• Evaluate new products, equipment, and systems and recommend operational improvements.
• Extract and analyze data and provide reports to senior management to support tracking measures.
• Manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs.
• Perform other assigned duties in support of timely patient treatment and customer service.

Benefits

• Competitive salary with regular salary increases; a higher step may be considered based on higher or unique qualifications or VA special needs.
• 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 for qualifying birth, adoption, or foster-care placement.
• Potential childcare subsidy after 60 days for eligible full-time employees and families meeting the stated income and eligibility requirements.
• 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 programs may be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

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