Supervisory Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Palm Desert, CA

4d • Onsite

About The Position

Loma Linda VA Health Care System is recruiting a Supervisory Medical Support Assistant for the Palm Desert VA Clinic in Health Administration Service. The position plans and directs programs at medical centers or satellite outpatient clinics and has full supervisory responsibility for at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff. Higher-level duties involving significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and difficulty must be performed at least 25% of the time.

The incumbent directs subordinate staff and administrative patient-support activities, sets goals and assignments, evaluates work and performance, participates in hiring decisions, and takes disciplinary action when necessary. The role also supports clinic operations by monitoring scheduling, patient-service processes, data quality, training, and timely handling of encounters, wait-time errors, and consults. Work is performed with general supervisory guidance, using established policies and regulations and referring non-routine or highly technical problems to the supervisor. The employee is accountable for accurate and timely work, maintaining confidentiality, and reporting backlogs or barriers to completing assignments.

The position requires daily professional communication with Veterans, representatives, visitors, VA staff, physicians, case managers, and other allied health professionals. The employee must provide courteous, respectful, and consistent customer service and handle customer concerns constructively. The work is sedentary, with occasional walking, standing, bending, and carrying light items. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 0800–1630. Telework is not available, and the position is not virtual.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship is required, subject to the stated exception for appointments when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• At least 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.
• At least one year of customer-service experience in a position requiring daily direct customer interactions.
• Ability to perform the full range of administrative and supervisory duties for subordinate patient-support staff, including work assignment, performance evaluations, staff selection, and recommendations for awards or advancements.
• Ability to collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate customer-service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers while supporting 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.
• Must maintain confidentiality and meet applicable background and security investigation requirements.
• 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 submit required education documentation if applicable; foreign education used for qualification must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency.
• Work is sedentary, with occasional walking, standing, bending, and carrying light items; no special physical demands are required.

Responsibilities

• Plan and direct administrative patient-support programs at a medical center or satellite outpatient clinic.
• Supervise at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient-support staff member.
• Assign, review, and evaluate subordinate staff work; set team goals; and accept or reject completed work.
• Evaluate performance, complete performance appraisals, participate in hiring selections, recommend awards or advancements, and take disciplinary action when necessary.
• Evaluate new products, equipment, and systems and make recommendations to improve operations.
• Identify staff education and training needs and provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training.
• Ensure annual training requirements are completed by supervised staff and complete required mandatory trainings and assessments.
• Ensure staff update patient demographics, collect insurance information at every appointment, and complete required means tests when needed.
• Collect, validate, 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.
• Ensure the Vista Scheduling Package is used to schedule various clinics.
• Develop detailed procedures and guidelines to supplement established administrative regulations or program guidance.
• Manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs.
• Attend staff and provider meetings and meet daily or weekly with the nurse team leader.
• Maintain confidentiality and report backlogs, deadline difficulties, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty obtaining information from clinicians or records.
• Communicate courteously and respectfully with Veterans, their representatives, visitors, VA staff, physicians, case managers, and other allied health professionals, resolving issues through completion when appropriate.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits are available to the employee and family, with eligibility dependent on position type.
• Federal employees earn annual leave at a rate of 4, 6, or 8 hours per pay period based on years of service.
• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service, subject to approval.

What This Job Offers

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