Supervisory Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Rochester, NY

1d • Onsite

About The Position

This position serves as a Supervisory Medical Support Assistant (PACT) supporting the Medical, VA Care Lines across VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System. This position will be stationed at the Rochester Outpatient Clinic and is under the supervision of the Scheduling Section Chief. The supervisory Medical Support Assistant is responsible for extracting and analyzing data in order to provide reports in support of performance measures to senior management. This position also coordinates with the specialty care, behavioral health, and ancillary support positions teams at the physical location they work at to review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary), ensure that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments. The incumbent develop/maintain effective and efficient communication with the patients, interdisciplinary team, VA Medical Centers, and other agencies relating to specialty care services., communicate with non-VA Medical Facilities, facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and specialty provider teams, develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc. Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to; participating in specialty team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care, setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs, may work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record, managing unable to schedule list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues, participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issue or procedures within the specialty care offered throughout the VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System. The position is responsible for training directs reports on scheduling guidelines, directives, and processes. The incumbent will serve as the point of contact for specialty care MSA staff on all questions related to proper scheduling processes and will conduct scheduling competencies and audits required. The incumbent serves as the primary point of contact for consult processing working closely with the staff they supervise to ensure proper consult policy is followed regarding national timeline standards for contacting and acting upon consults. This position reports up through management in Health Administration Services as well as preparing weekly consult reports to be provided to the clinical operations office and then provided to the VISN. This position reports directly to Health Administration Services who is a direct report to the Associate Medical Center Director. Employees have full supervisory responsibility for supervising at least one subordinate team leader and a minimum of 9 to a maximum of 20 Medical Support Assistants. Work assignments come from the Scheduling Section Chief with a dotted line to work directly with clinical staff in scheduling related issues. The incumbent plans and organizes work with general assistance from the supervisor as to meet local and VA-wide time frames to complete analysis requirements, reports and special assignments and only refers to the non-routine and high technical problems to his/her supervisor. The incumbent is responsible for reporting backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty in securing information from clinicians or the record. Is also responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of information obtained to carry out required duties. Routinely communicates with physicians, case managers, and other allied health professional staff using sound interpersonal skills and is constantly aware of the sensitive information. Performs other duties assigned.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• 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 forms of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.
• 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.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section.
• Must serve a 1 or 2-year trial period.
• High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-07).
• Qualifying experience includes but is not limited to: assigning and evaluating the work of subordinate MSA staff; resolving complex problems to ensure patient services are met; evaluating new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improved clinic operations; identifying educational or training needs; making final decisions on hiring selections; evaluating performance, and taking disciplinary action when necessary.
• Advanced knowledge of managing or leading patient support staff in a clinic, including independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.
• Ability to provide the full range of administrative and supervisory duties to at least one subordinate MSA supervisor or team leader in a patient support setting, including assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation of awards and/or advancements.
• Ability to collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate customer service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers to ensure quality/continuity of care and ensure compliance with established 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.
• Creditable experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting.
• For all assignments above the full performance level (FPL), the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
• For all supervisory assignments the Supervisory MSA must spend 25% or more of their time providing administrative and technical supervision and perform major duties above those at the FPL that consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, and variety.
• Supervisory MSAs at this level plan and direct programs at medical centers and/or satellite outpatient clinics.
• They have full responsibility for supervising at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting.
• Assignments at this level include but are not limited to evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving complex problems to ensure patient services are met; evaluating new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improved operations; identifying educational or training needs; making final decisions on hiring selections; evaluating performance and taking disciplinary action when necessary.
• The employee has administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the subordinate lead, supervisor, and MSA's activities.
• Responsible for extracting and analyzing data to provide reports to senior management in support of tracking measures.

Nice To Haves

• Supervising/ Managing Administrative Staff

Responsibilities

• Extracting and analyzing data to provide reports in support of performance measures to senior management.
• Coordinating with specialty care, behavioral health, and ancillary support positions teams to review clinic utilization and ensure clinic setup effectively supports needs.
• Developing and maintaining effective communication with patients, interdisciplinary teams, VA Medical Centers, and other agencies regarding specialty care services.
• Communicating with non-VA Medical Facilities.
• Facilitating and processing secure messaging with patients and specialty provider teams.
• Developing and managing a tracking system for follow-up care such as consults and tests.
• Participating in specialty team huddles and meetings to manage and plan patient care, setting priorities and deadlines, and adjusting workflow.
• Reinforcing the plan of care and self-help solutions with the team and entering appropriate information into the electronic record.
• Managing the unable-to-schedule list to verify accuracy and resolve issues.
• Participating and providing input in problem-solving operational issues or procedures within specialty care.
• Training direct reports on scheduling guidelines, directives, and processes.
• Serving as the point of contact for specialty care MSA staff on scheduling processes and conducting scheduling competencies and audits.
• Serving as the primary point of contact for consult processing, ensuring adherence to national timeline standards.
• Preparing weekly consult reports for the clinical operations office and VISN.
• Planning and organizing work to meet local and VA-wide timeframes for analysis, reports, and special assignments.
• Reporting backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or challenges in securing information.
• Maintaining the confidentiality of information obtained.
• Routinely communicating with physicians, case managers, and other allied health professionals using sound interpersonal skills.
• Performing other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package.
• As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.
• Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee.
• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience.

What This Job Offers

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