Summary The Lead Medical Support Assistant (MSA) in Community Care Service (CCS) serves as a senior administrative operations specialist with responsibility for coordinating consult workflows, community care scheduling processes, and administrative support functions essential to VA's Veterans Community Care Program. Duties include, but are not limited to: Consult Lifecycle Oversight & Workflow Coordination Responsibilities Duties include, but are not limited to: Oversees the end-to-end lifecycle of Community Care consults, ensuring timely progression through eligibility review, clinical review, authorization, scheduling, and completion. Monitors consult queues for delays, aging consults, misrouted consults, and barriers to timely care; initiates corrective actions or escalates as appropriate. Coordinates with CCRNs, RCTs, providers, and other interdisciplinary staff to ensure consults meet Mission Act standards, including =7-day scheduling requirements. HSRM, SEOC, and Authorization Management Provides oversight of HealthShare Referral Manager (HSRM) administrative workflows, including referral submission, documentation uploads, authorization status monitoring, and error resolution. Ensures SEOCs (Standardized Episodes of Care) are correctly applied within consults and authorizations, consistent with VHA and VCC guidance. Tracks authorization delays, provider acceptance issues, and incomplete referral packets; collaborates with team members to resolve barriers. Scheduling, Access, and Community Provider Coordination Ensures accurate and timely scheduling of community care appointments in accordance with Veterans' preferences, eligibility criteria, and Mission Act access standards. Communicates with community providers to verify appointment availability, resolve scheduling conflicts, clarify authorization requirements, and support continuity of care. Provides guidance to staff on scheduling protocols, consult management requirements, and updates to VHA Community Care policies. Leadership, Training, and Workload Management Performs daily workload assessments, assigns work, balances staff responsibilities, and ensures adequate coverage across consult management, scheduling, referral processing, and HSRM operations. Leads training and competency development for MSAs and Advanced MSAs, including onboarding, refresher training, workflow updates, and compliance with mandatory training requirements. Reviews work for accuracy, completeness, technical soundness, and adherence to VA regulations and local SOPs; identifies training needs and performance trends. Assists staff with complex or non-standard consult and scheduling procedures, including high-acuity cases, special authorization circumstances, and escalated issues from Veterans or providers. Operational Support & Liaison Responsibilities Acts as a liaison among AMSAs/AMSAs, CCRNs, providers, Veterans, and other interdisciplinary staff to collaboratively resolve daily operational challenges. Independently coordinates day-to-day operations of the CCS administrative team, utilizing initiative to resolve workflow problems, address bottlenecks, and improve service delivery. Provides input to Supervisory MSA regarding workflow improvement, staff performance, process gaps, and policy/procedure updates. Supports compliance with auditing, documentation, timeliness reporting, and operational metrics required by VHA and OCC. Other Duties as Assigned Performs additional CCS administrative functions as needed to support continuity of operations, including coverage during high workload periods or staffing shortages. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 08:00am - 04:45pm Telework: Ad-hoc eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 50082F 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. 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. 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 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. Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial- level Board or Department of Education. 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: GS-0679-07 Lead Medical Support Assistant: Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-06). Examples of creditable experience include but are not limited to: Coordinating with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments as necessary; participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; enters appropriate information into the electronic record; monitors pre- appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure; manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community. (b) Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff. (c) Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting. (d) Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines. (e) Ability to provide staff development and training. (f) Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics. Preferred Experience: Customer service experience Lead/Supervisory experience 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-07. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, navigating stairs independently, in conjunction with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. 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/. NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application. NOTE: If your school was accredited at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet Additional Information 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. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. 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.
