Job Summary

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant is aligned under Primary Care Service at VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System (VATVCBHCS), a Level 2 Facility, whose purpose is to provide but not limited to scheduling for the Mobile Medical Unit (MMU). This position may be assigned to work at any one of several VCB sites: Corpus Christi Mobile Medical Unit (MMU), Corpus Christi West Point (CCWP), McAllen Mobile Medical Unit (MMU).

Job Description

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. No experience required. *Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education. Licensure/Certification/Registration. None 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-6 Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: (a) 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. (b) 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. (c) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. (d) 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. (e) Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. (f) 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. Assignment: At the advanced level, the Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) (AMSA) performs difficult and responsible 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. Recommend 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. Preferred Experience: 1 year experience working in a clinical environment. 1 year experience scheduling patients in a medical appointment software. 1 year experience managing patient communications (e.g., telephone and/or communication programs). 1 year experience with documenting appropriate information into an electronic medical record programs/databases. 1 year of administrative/phone customer service skills, in de-escalation, problem solving, decision making, and strong tactful communication skills orally and in writing. Ability to provide active listening skills and multitask. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-06. Physical Requirements: The work of the Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) assigned to the Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) is primarily sedentary; however, the position requires enough physical capacity to support mobile clinic operations across multiple deployment sites. The incumbent must be able to perform light-to-heavy lifting, including carrying materials and equipment weighing up to 45 pounds, as well as lighter loads under 15 pounds. The role requires periods of walking and standing, along with intermittent pushing, kneeling, bending, climbing, and reaching above shoulder level as needed during MMU setup, patient flow coordination, and movement of supplies. The AMSA must have the manual dexterity necessary for keyboarding, documentation, and handling office and telehealth equipment, along with the ability to maintain rapid mental and muscular coordination during high-volume administrative tasks. Adequate near and far vision (correctable), depth perception, basic color distinction, and sufficient hearing (with hearing aid permitted) are required to perform duties safely and effectively.