The NY Harbor VA Healthcare system is currently recruiting for many Advanced Medical Support Assistants for the Health Administration Service. Recruitment or Relocation incentives have been authorized for highly qualified candidates. This is an open continuous vacancy announcement. The announcement will remain open until the closing date or until all vacancies have been filled, whichever occurs first. Applications will be reviewed and referred as needed.

Duties

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant position plays an integral role in identifying and developing ways to resolve problems with the administrative and clinical staff on access, customer service, patient flow, revenue, and data validation issues. The incumbents work also impacts processes, action plans, monitoring and reporting. A large part of the duties as an AMSA is the initial interaction, either face-to face, virtually and/or telephonically, requiring excellent customer service skills. The work requires a high degree of judgment in responding to both employee and patient concerns and providing solutions to process problems as they affect day-to-day operations. The work is mostly sedentary. Clinic Responsibilities: Check in and check out of patients, verify insurance and demographics, schedule appointments, telephone and e-mail responses for patients, interface with care teams. Hours are generally 8AM to 430PM Monday to Friday in person. There is an occasional Saturday Clinic. Locations are Manhattan, St. Albans, and Brooklyn. Inpatient operations: Process admissions and discharges, answer ward phones, receive and screen ward visitors, schedule discharge appointments, interface with ward team to coordinate discharge needs. 730AM to 4PM, and 330PM to Midnight. Weekends are needed. A standard schedule that includes weekends can be negotiated. Saturday and Sunday have a 25% pay premium. Locations are Manhattan, St. Albans, and Brooklyn. St. Albans usually ends coverage by 6PM, and one day tour on the weekend from 9AM to 530PM Emergency Department: Answer phones, makes calls to coordinate tests and care needs, receive and direct visitors, work with nursing for bed assignments, verify insurance and demographics. This is a 24 by 7 operation, so there are many opportunities to negotiate a schedule that will fit a person's needs. Work Schedule: Various tours, see above. Will be discussed during interview. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 21L29-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized for highly qualified applicants. 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: 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. 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. Grade Determinations: Creditable Experience. Knowledge of MSA Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the 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. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting. Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and a range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level, performing duties including but not limited to: independently perform a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments. Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers. AND; Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: A. 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. B. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. C. 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. D. 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. E. 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. F. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. References: VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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 VA NY Harbor Healthcare System 423 East 23rd Street New York, NY 10010 US
• Name: Kimberly Ohalloran
• Email: [email protected]