This Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) position is in the Mental Health Service of the Alexandria VA Health Care System located in Pineville, LA.

Duties

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) position is located at the Alexandria VA Health Care System (AVAHCS) and the AMSA is organizationally aligned under the Mental Health Residential and Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP) within the Mental Health Product Line. The duties of the Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) include but are not limited to: Ensures work and reports are complete, accurate and timely Reviews output for correctness and completeness Interfaces with numerous computer applications including but not limited to CPRS, VSE, etc. Participates actively in the management of the MHRRTP Performing routine administrative and miscellaneous clerical work Resolves problems associated with the administrative and clerical work of the MHRRTP Scheduling and consult monitoring for MHRRTP Treating a variety of conventional problems, questions, or situations in conformance with established criteria Works under scrutinized time constraints Develops and maintains effective communication with patients, VA staff, and outside agencies Participating in MHRRTP and MH Product Line (MHPL) meetings to manage and plan patient care Adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs Evaluating patient information to ensure accuracy of demographics Promotes Veteran registration of and utilization of My HealtheVet (MHV) Assists patients and other external and internal customers solve administrative and systems issues Answers phone calls in a courteous and timely manner Determines the nature of requests and utilize the information to meet patient needs Accepts all telephone calls to the MHRRTP regarding program inquiries Coordinates care needs and direct problem resolution as appropriate Uses the Veterans Health Information & Technology Architecture (Vista) and Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) to access information in the VA Healthcare Computer System Tracks and reports encounters and consults Reviews active/pending consults for accuracy and disposition Acts as a patient advocate and attempts to resolve patient needs to the best of their ability and/or notifies Supervisor of issues Assist with the training and/or orientation of administrative duties to new staff Serves as primary timekeeper for the MHRRTP Maintains reports of assigned MHRRTP staff leave schedule Assists with the requisition of office supplies, equipment maintenance Prepares and distributes meeting minutes, maintains electronic and paper files Coordinates appointments for patients enrolled in MHRRTP Assists with coordination of transportation Schedules patients for admission to MHRRTP Arranges post discharge appointments for patients in accordance with national policy Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30 am -4:00 pm Telework: May be Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 502-00259-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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. (1) 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, (2) Education. One year above high school; OR, (3) 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. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency. Medical Support Assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Policy. Grade Determinations. To qualify for the GS-06 level, your resume must demonstrate you possess the required experience necessary to possess the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) required for the grade. Be specific when describing the job duties that demonstrate you possess the KSAs listed. Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit.? Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06 (a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level. To qualify for this position, you must demonstrate in your resume that you have experience that includes: Entering, modifying, retrieving sensitive information into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports; Scheduling medical appointments in a clinical setting; Performing patient support work; Providing customer service and identifying patient concerns to ensure satisfactory resolution; Advanced level of medical terminology. (b) Assignment. The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments as necessary. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.). (c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition, you must demonstrate ALL of the following KSAs in your resume: 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: Experience working in Mental Health or Substance Use Disorder settings References: VA Handbook 5005/117 Part II, Appendix G45 VA Qualification Standard for Medical Support Assistant, GS-0679. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation and would generally not require a pre-placement examination. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

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.

Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have?been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign?educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent?to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

Contacts

• Address Alexandria VA Medical Center 2495 Shreveport Highway Pineville, LA 71360 US
• Name: Tammy Stephens
• Phone: 325-901-4382
• Email: [email protected]