Supervisory Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Bakersfield, CA

5d • Onsite

About The Position

The Greater Los Angeles Health Care System is hiring a Supervisory Medical Support Assistant to serve in the Health Administration service at the Bakersfield Outpatient Clinic. The role plans and directs programs at medical centers and/or satellite outpatient clinics and has full supervisory responsibility for at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff member. Higher-level duties involving significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and difficulty must be performed at least 25% of the time.

The employee plans and organizes work with general assistance from a supervisor to meet local and VA-wide deadlines for analysis, reports, and special assignments. The employee handles routine decisions independently using guidelines, precedents, and regulations, and refers non-routine or highly technical problems to the supervisor. Performance is assessed based on operational effectiveness, work quality and accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with procedures and policies. The role requires maintaining confidentiality and communicating with physicians, case managers, clinicians, and other staff.

The position is based at the Bakersfield Outpatient Clinic, 1801 Westwind Dr., Bakersfield, California. The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 0800–1630. Telework is not available, and the position is not virtual. The work is sedentary, with occasional walking, standing, bending, and carrying light items; no special physical demands are required.

Requirements

• One year of experience equivalent to GS-7 leading or supervising MSAs or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a non-VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting; or one year above high school; or an equivalent combination of experience and education where both are acceptable.
• For the GS-08 grade determination, one year of experience equivalent to GS-7 leading or supervising MSAs or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a non-VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting.
• Ability to provide the full range of administrative and supervisory duties for at least one subordinate MSA supervisor or team leader, including work assignments, performance evaluations, staff selection, and recommendations for awards or advancement.
• Ability to collaborate and communicate, and demonstrate customer-service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers to support quality and continuity 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.
• Advanced knowledge of managing or leading patient support staff in a clinic, including independent use of reference sources, decision-making, and empowering teams to collaborate and resolve problems in a complex systems environment.
• At least one year of customer-service experience in a position requiring daily direct customer interactions.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, subject to the stated exception for non-citizen appointments when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under VA policy.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Must complete applicable background/security investigation, onboarding, application documentation, and identification requirements.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is required for VA health care personnel.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period.
• Any foreign education used to qualify must be evaluated by a qualified credential interpretation organization and deemed equivalent to U.S. education; foreign education requires a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with the transcript.
• Applicants using education to substitute for experience where applicable must provide the required education documentation.

Responsibilities

• Assign, plan, review, and evaluate the work of subordinate staff, and accept or reject completed work.
• Set team goals and assignments and direct subordinate staff activities.
• Complete performance appraisals and take disciplinary actions when necessary; make final hiring selections and evaluate recommendations for awards or advancement.
• Resolve complex problems to ensure patient services are met and evaluate new products, equipment, and systems for potential operational improvements.
• Identify staff education and training needs and ensure annual training requirements are completed.
• Attend staff and provider meetings and meet daily or weekly with the nurse team leader.
• Ensure staff update patient demographics, collect insurance information at every appointment, and complete required means tests when needed.
• Collect and validate data; extract and analyze data and provide reports to senior management for tracking measures.
• Ensure encounter errors and appointment wait-time errors are corrected promptly and consults are addressed in a timely manner.
• Develop detailed procedures and guidelines to supplement established administrative regulations or program guidance.
• Ensure the VistA Scheduling Package is used to schedule appointments for various clinics.
• Manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs.
• Complete mandatory trainings and assessments.
• Report backlogs, deadline difficulties, uncooperative physicians, and difficulty obtaining information from clinicians or records.
• Maintain confidentiality of information and communicate courteously and effectively with Veterans, representatives, visitors, VA staff, physicians, case managers, and other allied health professionals.
• Resolve customer issues appropriately and carry them through to timely completion.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package available to the employee and family, with specific eligibility depending on position type.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service, subject to request and approval before appointment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed