Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/04/2026

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship: Must be a United States Citizen
• 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
• Experience: No experience required
• Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education
• 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
• IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE, YOU MUST MEET THE GRADE REQUIREMENTS AT THE GS-06 LEVEL TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION
• GS-6 LEVEL GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Specialized Experience: Must have one (1) year of experience that is directly related to the duties of a MSA and that equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position
• To be creditable, this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-05, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities
• Experience at this level includes, but is not limited to: Advising clinical staff on current administrative processes
• Answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• Entering no-show information
• monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources
• participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility
• verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments
• 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.)
• AND, DEMONSTRATED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: Candidates must demonstrate [all of] the KSAs below: KSA-1
• Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met
• KSA-2
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations
• KSA-3
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing
• This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns
• KSA-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
• KSA-5
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect the patient flow, and patient support care to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc
• KSA-6
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians
• 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-06
• Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary
• Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting
• There may be some walking, standing twisting, turning, sitting, pushing, bending, repetitive keyboarding, or carrying of light items
• Some positions may require sitting for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while talking on a telephone headset.