Summary The Portland, OR VA Medical center is looking to fill two Advanced Medical Support Assistant positions in Inpatient and Emergency Services (IESD) Critical Care Unit (CCU). The list generated from this announcement can be used up to 90 days to fill any additional vacancies that may arise. Responsibilities VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Medical Support Assistant: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdf The CCU Advanced MSA provides input on performance, resolves daily work place issues and maintains efficient workflow as related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information. The incumbent will interface with personal computer (PC) applications as well as numerous Veterans Health Information Systems Technology Architecture (VistA) applications and the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). Duties: Working as a liaison between management and staff MSAs to ensure efficient and accurate scheduling of outpatient visits and associated tests for patients. Notifies the appropriate staff members of the patients' arrival. He or she provides staff with appropriate paperwork that is specific for the type of Infection Control Flags, Behavioral Flags, and other Patient Flags. He or she assists patients during the admission process and verifies and/or updates patient demographics and prints their inpatient wrist band. The Advanced MSA verifies that medical insurance information is accurate and completed at time of visit. Providing on-the-job training for new and current MSAs to promote consistency, excellence and adherence to standards. Acts as a Preceptor to newly hired CCU MSAs as needed. Demonstrating advanced knowledge of medical procedures, medical terminology and acronyms, and other unique laboratory requirements of a CCU and how they are ordered in the computer. Schedules a patient's follow up appointment with a medical or surgical care specialty clinic as appropriate, following all scheduling guidelines for accurate scheduling and access to VAPORHCS. Monitors the input of order entry lab and imaging tests, outpatient and inpatient care consults, verifies the accuracy of doctor's orders. o Initiates the ordering of outside VA medical records. Coordinating information and actions related to patient care services. Provides education on how and when to place consults, ordering tests and procedures in CPRS. The Advanced MSA assists in delivering comprehensive healthcare to the Veteran population that requires them to have a general knowledge of available primary care services, specialty and surgical care services, and computer systems for scheduling other services within the VAPORHCS. Respond to complex phone calls from Veterans and Veterans families and can manage extreme work pressure working in an Critical Care environment. Input electronic work requests and performs administrative follow-up actions as needed. Verifies patient's Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders, Advanced Directives and Hipaa requirements within CPRS. Review the surgical and administrative schedules, verify bed census to coordinate availability for the Patient Flow team for accurate admitting capability to the specific Critical Care Unit. Complete discharge orders and all necessary discharge paperwork. Work Schedule: Current vacancy tours are Wed-Sat 1400-0030 & Sun-Wed 1400-0030. However, this department functions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Shifts will include Weekdays, Weekends, & Holidays. All Shifts to include Day, Evening, and Night. Available shifts will be discussed during the interview process. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): 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 Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 0000 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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 3j Specialized Experience: one year of specialized experience in an advanced or complex clinical setting utilizing numerous advanced patient care systems, scheduling appointments across multiple clinics and coordination of services among a diverse team of medical providers and clinics to include outside agencies, advanced knowledge of medical terminology, advanced knowledge of the technical health care processes, policy and procedures as it relates to coordination of care. Candidates must demonstrate the KSAs below: 1. 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. 2. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. Reference: VA Handbook 5005/117, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard, GS-679. Published August 1, 2019. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary but may require periods of standing and walking. There are not any physical requirements for the 0679 series. Education Education cannot be substituted for experience at the GS-06 level. 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. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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.