Located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Integrated Service Network 10 (VISN 10), at the VA Northern Indiana Health Care System (VANIHCS) within the Care in the Community (CITC) Service. This position reports to the Supervisory Program Manager, CITC. Incumbent will be responsible for closely monitoring the work of new and experienced MSA staff and confer with the Administrative Officer, Deputy Chief and Chief of CITC Service.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: A. Ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments. B. Providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures. C. Monitors daily staffing levels and ensures equal distribution of workload/coverage on a daily basis. D. Coordinating department flow, sequencing and other administrative support functions associated with the day-to-day department operation to meet team and patient needs. E. Ensures workload coverage, which may include covering the AMSA roles as needed if gaps in staffing/coverage are identified. F. Acting as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, patients and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day to day conflicts. G. Functions as subject matter expert in all administrative support packages such as FBCS, CPRS, VISTA, VSE, REFDOCS, HSRM, PPMS, Consult Tracking Manager , Message Manager, Scheduling Manager and all other administrative packages required for scheduling staff to perform the functions of their role in community care. H. Responsible for identifying backlogs in workload and potential procedural problems by observation/monitoring of the activities for the MSAs and brings them to the attention of the Supervisor. This is measured by observation, spot-check, employee reports and/or other reporting mechanisms I. Maintaining the confidentiality of information obtained to carry out required duties. J. Assists the supervisor in monitoring and ensuring the integrity of various databases, to include consult management and other reports and data used in the management of administrative and customer service within the service line. K. Assists the AMSA Supervisor with developing contingency plans for data/input/transmission. L. Demonstrate leadership and be a positive role model to staff at all times. M. Contributing in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines. N. May work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self- help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record. O. Monitoring pre- appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure. P. Participating and providing input in problem-solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings; performing administrative follow-up actions. Q. Independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care. R. Educating providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and bringing to the attention of the provider. S. Maintains suspense files necessary for monitoring the processing of consults. T. Will provide weekly, monthly and quarterly reports within established time frames and report to the supervisor. U. Will perform spot checks to ensure that all MSAs are processing consults following Office of Community Care procedures and guidelines and ensuring appropriate authorizations are entered if required utilizing the correct Program Authority and affiliation. V. Collaborates, communicates, sets priorities, and organizes the work in order to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Telework: Approved however may be granted at the supervisor's discretion Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 91803 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

The following are requirements for appointment as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). These requirements apply to all VHA MSAs in the General Schedule (GS)-0679 series. 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. 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. Creditable Experience (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, an MSA employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service. 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). 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: (1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or changed to a lower grade within the occupation. (2) 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. (3) 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. 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: Lead Medical Support Assistant, GS-7 You must possess one (1) full year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level. This experience may include but is not limited to: assuring coverage of all areas of responsibility; conducting ongoing reviews to ensure quality of work; ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments; providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures; distributing and balancing workload; creating and maintaining employee work schedules; orienting and providing on-the-job training for new and current employees; ensuring all training requirements are met; organizing the work structure of his/her assigned areas; and acting as a liaison between MSA and staff to resolve day to day conflicts. This experience must be clearly demonstrated in your resume. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources. Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting. Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines. Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff. Ability to provide staff development and training. Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics. References: VA Handbook 5005/117 Part II Appendix G45 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-0679-07. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items (medical records, computing devices, manuals, papers, books, small parts). The work requires manual dexterity for computer data entry, office machine operation and filing. However, in general, the work does not require unusual physical demands. The work does require emotional stability to resolve crisis situations. 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.

Transcripts must be official or unofficial college transcripts. A copy of your certificate/degree or screenshot of your current classes are not a replacement of your transcript and they will not be used in the qualifying process. Your transcript must include your name and the name and full address of the institution.

If the position has an education requirement or you are qualifying based on education, you need to list your education history including the type of degree and your major of study. If the position requires a certain number of credit hours, you are strongly encouraged to list the relevant courses in your resume.

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 Northern Indiana HCS 1700 East 38th Street Marion, IN 46953 US
• Name: Holli Walker
• Phone: 832-350-4150
• Email: [email protected]