Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Summary

This announcement may be used to fill multiple Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), also referred to as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA), positions at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center located in Houston, TX, or at any of the community-based outpatient clinics. This announcement may be used to fill AMSA vacancies in any department and may be used to fill full-time, part-time, or intermittent vacancies.

Duties

• This is an open continuous announcement until no later than September 30, 2027. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. The announcement may close prior to the announced date if an adequate applicant pool has been obtained. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated delivery model with the Clinical Contact Center, Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) Primary and Specialty Care clinics, Mental Health, Surgery, and other professional staff to provide access to care at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and Community Based Outpatient Clinics. The primary duties of the Advanced Medical Support Assistant may include but are not limited to: Schedules, cancels, or reschedules appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Verifies and updates demographics and insurance information. Captures and verifies third-party insurance and updates information in the Insurance Capture (ICB) system. Retrieves and responds to data generated from Audio Care system. Conducts outbound phone calls in response to Veterans requests to reschedule cancelled appointments. Participates in multidisciplinary program meetings such as LEAN groups, Performance Improvement Projects (PIP), and other Telecare work groups or focus groups. Answers phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determines the nature of the requests and utilizes the information to meet patient needs and complies with privacy rules and clinic processes. Promotes Veteran registration of and utilization of My HealtheVet (MHV) by managing messages and authentication of Veterans. Tracks and reports encounters in VistA to the Supervisor or Nurse Manager. Applies knowledge of various software functions to manipulate and arrange data in documents with complicated formats such as graphics and tables. Understands advanced software capabilities sufficiently to utilize the more advanced function keys in a manner that increases productivity. Participates in huddles with assigned clinics (PACT Team, BHIP Teams, and other teams within clinical services) to maximize and coordinate access/healthcare for Veterans. Schedules and removes new patients from the Electronic Wait List and the New Enrollee Appointment Report. Schedules appoints through Consults, RTC, Patient Request, provider request, transfer orders and other deemed appropriate modalities by national and local policies. Work Schedule: Work schedules will vary based on the particular vacancy. Tour of duty is subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year). Paid Time Off will differ for employees working less than full-time. ***Benefits will differ for employees working less than full-time*** Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Varies by location and department Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

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. 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 English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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: 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-06 Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-05). Examples of creditable experience include but are not limited to: answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit; scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; 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. Coordinating administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.). Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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. 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 06. Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment. Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Grade: GS 6. . Apply by 2027-09-30 on USAJOBS.