Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) functions as serving as an initial point of contact for the units, clinics, patient. Duties included, but not limited to : scheduling patient appointments, tracking, reviewing, and responding to electronic orders and consults in the organizational medical systems. This position requires a practical knowledge of computerized data entry, information processing systems and software related to patient care.

Duties

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VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant :

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major duties include (but not limited to) :

Customer Service

• Greet and check in patients, assist patients with mobile check-in if needed.
• Gather medical information if needed.
• Refer patients to appropriate member of health care team as needed.
• Report backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians.
• Document complaints.
• Ability to identify customer's concerns, perform the tasks required to resolve the issues accurately and timely, and follow-up as necessary to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

Perform receptionist duties

Scheduling Expectations

Administrative duties

Special Duties as assigned

Work Schedule : 40 hours per week, Monday-Friday. Duty hours will vary and will be discussed during the interview process.

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 available

Virtual : This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 000000

Permanent Change of Station (PCS) : Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 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 :

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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11 : 59 PM (ET) on 01 / 05 / 2026.

Medical Support Assistant Basic Requirements :

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 and Education :

OR

OR

Certification : None required.

Grandfathering Provision : All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, which are a part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply :

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.j.

Grade Determinations :

GS-3 Grade Experience or Education (Entry Level) : None beyond the basic requirements.

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) : Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below.

OR

Education : Two years of education above high school.

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) : Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below :

OR ,

Education : Four years of education above high school.

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) : Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below :

References : VA Handbook 5005 / 53, Part II, Appendix G45

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5

Physical Requirements : The work is primarily sedentary, however, there may be some walking, standing, bending and transporting items under 20 pounds. Works extensively in the hospital computer system.

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.

Education

IMPORTANT : A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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 : 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 :

Additional information

The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order :

This is an open continuous announcement; applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available.

This occupational series may be eligible for the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP). Repayment is limited to $40,000 annually, up to $100,000 in lifetime awards. Participants must sign a three-year service agreement and maintain an acceptable level of performance to remain eligible for this program. Contact VHAV23SLRP@va.gov for more 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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.