Job Summary

The position serves as a Medical Support Assistant in the Primary Care Service at the VA Central California Health Care System, Fresno, CA. The Medical Support Assistant performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information.

Job Description

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. AMSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j. *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 Determination: In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met for the grade. Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. This experience includes: Operating computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports; Utilizing medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients; Scheduling medical appointments in a clinical setting; Working independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work. Communicating effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers. Providing customer service, understanding and helping with customer concerns to ensure a satisfactory resolution. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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. 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-6. Physical Requirements: This is primarily a sedentary position. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 for requirements.