Job opening: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)
Salary: $42 022 - 54 625 per year
Published at: Jul 11 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
Recruitment Incentive may be authorized for the best qualified applicants.
The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant assigned to a Specialty Care Setting involved in a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model. Serves primarily as the Advanced Medical Support Assistant for the Rehabilitation and Extended Care Integrated Clinical Community.
Duties
The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.
Major Duties:
Coordinates with the patient care team 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.
Facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team; notify patients of normal lab results; develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.).
Work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record; monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure
Managing electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues.
Employee 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.
Responsible for reporting backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty in securing information from clinicians or the record.
Routinely communicates with physicians, case managers, and other allied health professional staff using sound interpersonal skills and is constantly aware of the sensitive information.
Communicates and treats customers in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner.
Participating in and independently following up on team huddles.
Administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level.
Work Schedule: 8am to 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for the best qualified applicant.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Qualifications
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.
Experience and Education
Experience: Six months experience of clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position; OR
Education: One year above High School; OR
Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
Certification: None Required
English Language Proficiency: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.
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).Grandfathering Provision. All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, which are a part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or changed to a lower grade within the occupation.
Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
If an employee who was converted to Title 38 hybrid status under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
Grade Determinations:
Medical Support Assistant (Advanced),GS-6
Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level, which includes, but not limited to: 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; Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients; 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; and Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g. medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns.
Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care.
Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care [administrative functions] to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc.
Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
Preferred Experience: Scheduling knowledge, customer service knowledge, clerical skills, computer skills.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6.
Physical Requirements: Position requires visual acuity, adequate auditory perception, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. Position requires potentially extended periods of sitting. The position requires some bending and carrying of items.
References: VA Handbook 5005/117 Part II, Appendix G45.
Education
IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here:
http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.
Contacts
- Address Iowa City VA Health Care System
601 Highway 6 West
Iowa City, IA 52246
US
- Name: Jessica Echlin
- Phone: 651-405-5661
- Email: [email protected]
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