The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) serves in the VA Community Care (VACC) team. The AMSA performs clerical and administrative support in the coordination, care, and treatment provided to veterans through the VA Community Care referral processing procedures at the Fargo VA Health Care System, which includes the Community Based Outreach Clinics (CBOCs).
BASIC REQUIREMENTS: a. Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.). b. 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. c. Certification. None required. e. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs. f. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. g. 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. GS-06 Advanced Medical Support Assistant: This GS-6 Advanced Medical Support Assistant position is above the full performance level for this job series and requires experience beyond the basic requirement for positions in this occupation. EXPERIENCE: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level that equips the candidate with the following: Ability to operate 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. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution. AND Candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the knowledge, skills and abilities below: 1. 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. 2. Ability to independently set priorities and organizes work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies and regulations. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6. 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/. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.
Duties of this position are, but not limited to: Provide specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Works closely with clinical personnel to ensure veterans receive timely referred and scheduled care in their local community. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Coordinates veteran appointments through community vendors utilizing guidance and direction from the veteran's care team to ensure appointments are scheduled accurately, efficiently and within the clinical needs requested by the provider. Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the veteran, veteran representatives, interdisciplinary care teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies Processes incoming veteran messages through message manager and care requests through my healthy vet, and coordinates with care team as appropriate Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan problem solve, and follow up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with interdisciplinary team Setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs Enter appropriate information into the electronic record Manage patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues Evaluate and triages scheduling to meet recommendations by clinician in regards to urgency of the referrals. Ensures the integrity of various databases, and data used in the management of administrative and customer service within the department. Utilize the administrative support packages such as FBCS, CPRS, VISTA, VSE, REFDOCS, HSRM, PPMS, Community Viewer, Message Manager, Scheduling Manager and all other administrative packages required to perform the functions of the role in community care. Responsible for scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with Community Care processes guidelines and directives. Independently recognizes the urgency of the consults and schedules care in accordance. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00-4:30 Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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) Functional Statement #: 000000