Summary The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) works under the general supervision of the Department, or Unit Manager, but is expected to follow the directions of the charge nurses and other professionals working in their area. The supervisor sets priorities and attainment of specific milestones within a project as well as deadlines for work completion. The employee is expected to carry out assignment independently in accordance with unit standards, procedures, and accepted practices. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Communicate, collaborate and works effectively with other nursing and hospital personnel. - Maintains a clean and safe working environment at the Nurse's Station for both PODs and the unit floor area. - Contains and prevents patients' sensitive information from open access. - Completes and updates BMS board per shift on patient-nurse assignment, ASCOM numbers, appropriate icons, and upon patient admission, transfer, and discharge. - Assign ASCOM phone to nursing staff. - Ensures safe and complete patient chart record and compilation. - Understand how to read the Medical and Surgical On-Call Schedule. - Understand how to read the Medical Ward Assignment Schedule. - Understand treating specialties or services and their relation to orders. - Complete requested forms, manually or using automated systems, for individual patient orders for care consults and any other request as required. - Receives telephone calls using VA Customer Courtesy Standards, and relays messages and/or redirects calls as necessary. - Refers urgent messages to appropriate personnel for immediate action. - Manages inquiries and complaints (telephone calls or in-person) from both patients and staff, and responds to them in a timely, competent, and professional manner. - Maintains and updates the unit telephone directory to look up telephone extension and pager numbers in the facility. - Understands how to place a local call or long-distance call using appropriate procedures. - Enters, manipulates, and retrieves information and data from Vista and other clinical information systems as appropriate to the area assigned. - Understand how to enter electronic work orders for office or patient care equipment as well as furniture repairs to the appropriate department such as BioMed, Engineering, or OIT. - Understand how to use Hospital Tubing System. - Understand how to use Patient Wristband Printer. - Prints new or replacement patient wristbands using the unit wristband printer. Hand the wristband to the patient's primary nurse and ensure proper reconciliation on patient verification. - Facilitate and ensure the provision of Code and fall risk status on the patient wristband for the primary nurse to validate and apply on the patient appropriately. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 11:30pm-8:00am (hours/days may vary) Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment 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 dentification 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. 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: 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.) Experience or Education: 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-Education, one year above high school OR-Experience/Education Combination, equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Certification: None required. Grandfathering Provision: 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). 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. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade. GS-3: Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements. Assignment. This is an entry level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals in a courteous and helpful manner in order to give instructions and arrange appointments. Ability to utilize computer systems to enter administrative data in patient systems. Ability to learn and utilize basic medical terminology to record patient messages and physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care. GS-4: Experience: One year of experience in 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 Education: Two years of education above high school. Assignment. This is a developmental level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level, receive minor and less frequent guidance from higher experienced staff members for more difficult tasks. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients. Ability to use, [and navigate between], various @types of office automation equipment and software (i.e. computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care. Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients. Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics. GS-5: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-04 grade level; OR Education: Four years of education above high school leading to a Bachelors Degree. Assignment. This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level, the MSA 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. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify and retrieve 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 phone, 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.The full performance level of this vacancy is 5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 3 to 5. Physical Requirements: The Medical Support Assistant work is mostly sedentary; however, some walking; standing, and carrying light items are required. Light filing, sometimes involving working close to the floor, is involved. Wrist and back protection can be provided to minimize the risks associated with prolonged use of automated data processing equipment. 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/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
