Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Summary

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (A/MSA) in Patient Business Service, Ward Administration at Dayton VA Medical Center performs technical and clerical duties to support direct patient care. As a key member of the patient care team, the A/MSA manages patient flow and provides critical administrative guidance. The role involves interfacing with PC and Vista applications, as well as the Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR), on inpatient units and in the ER.

Duties

• VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo Major duties include: Provide specialized, expert administrative patient support within an interdisciplinary care model. Use specialized administrative judgment and flexible clinical flow processes to adapt to changing patient needs. Collaborate, communicate, set priorities, and organize work to meet deadlines while ensuring compliance with processes and regulations. Serve as the administrative point of contact and support person for inpatient units and ER, working self-directed with minimal supervision. Utilize advanced patient systems to support care across multiple clinical disciplines. Coordinate with the patient care team to manage access to care, assign correct providers, notify admissions, enter patient movements, schedule outpatient/discharge appointments, and support nursing with admissions and transfer processes. Engage with patients, care teams, VA centers, and outside agencies for admissions, discharge, follow-up care, and seamless information transfer. Set priorities and deadlines, adjust work flow and task sequencing to best meet team and patient needs. Enter and monitor information in electronic health records, ensuring pre-appointment requirements are met and patient visit readiness. Initiate/perform a variety of administrative functions supporting care in medical, surgical, psychiatric, long-term care, and sub-specialty units. Use word processing and office automation software to store/retrieve files, format documents, transmit/receive emails, and print documents. Schedule ED visits, print patient armbands/labels, and ensure proper patient check-in using VISTA, ICB, and other VA applications. Validate patient demographic and insurance information using pre-registration tools; update as needed for each encounter. Manage ward units independently by referencing sources, making decisions, and empowering teams to collaboratively resolve system problems. Assist clinical staff with administrative orientation and maintain close working relationships regarding policy/procedure matters. Demonstrate professionalism, courtesy, and compassion as frontline contact, skillfully handling sensitive patient and family interactions. Answer phone calls promptly, determine needs, and provide information while upholding privacy and established processes. Schedule/coordinate consults, labs, x-rays, and specialty appointments per provider orders, always involving the patient in scheduling. Process and release sensitive information per privacy guidelines (HIPAA, FOIA, Privacy Act); route legal/complex requests properly. Protect all sensitive data from unauthorized access, loss, or alteration; follow all computerized file and access protocols. Meet and communicate effectively with diverse individuals and clinical team members to accomplish assignments. Operate office automation equipment/software, organizing record systems and setting up clinical appointments. Maintain confidentiality of all patient data. Complete all mandatory training/education requirements and comply with supervisor-assigned education. Work independently, managing position responsibilities, priorities, and deadlines with proficiency and little supervision. Plan and execute day-to-day office operations proactively, resolving problems and ensuring efficient, timely, accurate completion of all duties. Work Schedule: Sunday through Saturday, 3:30 P.M. to Midnight. Rotating weekends and holidays. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized 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) Telework: Not Avialable Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 93047A 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. 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. Education. High School Diploma, a General Education Development (GED) equivalency certificate, a proficiency certificate from the State or territorial-level Board or Department of education; Certification. None required. 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 experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Advanced Medical Support Assistant, GS-6 Experience - One (1) full year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. This experience may include but is not limited to; independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes. The AMSA is responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; 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. Coordinates 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.). Note: This experience must be clearly demonstrated in your resume. 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-0679-06 Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary. It typically requires sitting with sustained periods of concentration. There will be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of relatively light, objects. The position may also require stooping, reaching, lifting, pulling, and other moderate exertion or strain. Incumbent may occasionally have to walk some distance to a meeting.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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. 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.

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/.

How to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/08/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13051587. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.