Medical Support Assistant (Adv)

Medical Support Assistant (Adv)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job), United States

Salary Range: $45409 - $59031 Per Year

Job Summary: This Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) position is located in the Clinical Contact Center at various Medical Center locations within the VISN 1 New England Healthcare System. The positions are full-time at 40 hours per week. This is a remote position.

Major Duties:

• Medical Support Assistants (Advanced) at grade GS-06 are responsible for assistance to Veterans, by providing a smooth process for the management of Veteran outpatient appointments, as well as support work in connection with the care and treatment given to Veterans. Medical Support Assistants (MSAs) (Advanced) perform a variety of support duties that facilitate the work of an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (e.g. Patient-Aligned Care Team, or PACT), ensure that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments, work in collaboration with the appropriate clinic, develop and maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies. The MSA (Advanced) will work with the Lead MSA in setting priorities and deadlines, providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures. All incoming calls directed to the Clinical Contact Center will be screened by the MSA (Advanced) to determine whether those calls can be appropriately handled by the agent, or if they need to be directed to other team members thus improving responsiveness to Veterans' questions and concerns, and reducing the overall cost of care by controlling the use of resources. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. eastern time Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Remote: This position is currently designated as remote. Selectees will work 100% of the time in a non-VA-owned space that may be outside of the local commuting area of a parent station. The employee's workspace must be suitable for conducting business and as such, remote employees are expected to provide a secure, distraction-free home-based worksite with reliable high speed internet connectivity. The employee will be required to travel to the closest VA Medical Center or VA Outpatient Clinic for issuance of equipment, and as needed for technical support. Selectees will be required to self-certify that their remote workplace meets all safety, privacy, and internet speed requirements. Remote work is defined as full-time employment conducted outside of a VA facility or in VA-leased spaces. The option for remote work, does not imply permanent remote work status, will be assessed continuously, and the selected individual may need to return to a VA office if required. Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: F02434 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Notifications: Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees. Due to a critical staffing shortage, 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference for this job announcement This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOCs. Current Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Applicants may be referred over for consideration prior to the close date of this announcement. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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. English Language Proficiency: Medical Support Assistants appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English. 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). Grade Determinations: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) GS-06: Preferred Experience: Clinical Contact Center experience Experience: One (1) year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in Federal service (GS-05). Experience includes: Clinic experience in a hospital or doctor's office setting to include scheduling a high volume of appointments annually. High level customer service skills as evidenced by daily interaction and communication with clinicians, patients, families and coworkers. Evidence of work in a clinic setting with multiple inputs (in person, telephone, instant message communications) that need timely and professional resolution. Evidence of specific computer scheduling programs or software utilized in a clinic or hospital. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. And Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/117 PART II APPENDIX G45 Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard GS-0679, dated August 1, 2019. http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/Directives-Handbooks/Documents/5005.pdf . This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. Physical Requirements: The work requires some physical exertion such as prolonged periods of standing, bending, reaching, crouching, stooping, stretching, and lifting moderately heavy items such as papers, books, manuals, record boxes and boxes of computer paper. Computers are used and therefore keyboarding is required. The work includes walking from area to area when covering for other employees. Applicant may at times be exposed to stressful situations with Veterans. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12892546. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 03/06/2026. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-06