Medical Support Assistant

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11:59 PM (ET) on11/09/2026 Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

01Experience and Education

Experience: None. OR Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education. Licensure/Certification/Registration: None.

Grandfathering Provision: Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable.

For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.

Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/placements.

Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.

02Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

03Grade Determinations

Creditable Experience: To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.

Part-Time Experience: Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship for the full-time workweek. For example, an MSA employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.

Quality of Experience: Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level.

For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements, candidates must possess the required specialized experience and be able to demonstrate all Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) as summarized below.

GS-3 Grade Experience or Education (Entry Level): None beyond the basic requirements. GS-4 Grade Experience (Developmental Level): One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.; OR Education: One year of education above high school. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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. 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. GS-5 Grade Experience (Full Performance Level): One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; OR, Education: Two years of education above high school.

AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

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. 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. References: See Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) website for VA specific qualification standards: VA Qualification Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO).

04Preferred Experience

One year of experience working in a medical or clinic setting, scheduling appointments, referring patients to specialty clinics, collecting insurance documentation, documentation in electronic health records, and advanced medical terminology 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-05.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-05.

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties include but are not limited to the following: Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes.

The MSA 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.

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.).

Employee plans and organizes work with general assistance from the supervisor as to meet local and VAwide time frames to complete analysis requirements, reports and special assignments and only refers to the non-routine and high technical problems to his/her supervisor. The incumbent is responsible for reporting backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty in securing information from clinicians or the record.

Is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of information obtained to carry out required duties. Routinely communicates with physicians, case managers, and other allied health professional staff using sound interpersonal skills and is constantly aware of the sensitive information. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-430pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.

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. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized