Summary The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (Advanced MSA) works under Surgical Service at the San Francisco VA Health Care System. The Advanced MSA will serve as a facilitator and administrative coordinator for a high-volume surgical sub-specialty which includes staff physicians, surgical residents and nursing staff. Responsibilities Duties of the Advanced MSA are conducted under the direct supervision of the Section Chief of the assigned subspecialty and the Administrative Officer of Surgical Service. The Advanced MSA will work closely with the chief/senior resident and may accompany the team on rounds and be present in the outpatient clinic. The Advanced MSA extends the capability of the surgical residents by performing non-clinical duties which would otherwise need to be done by the physician staff. The Advanced MSA provides knowledge of all VAMC programs, policies, directives, resources, and processing requirements to his/her assigned surgical specialty team, thereby offering continuity of patient care to that specialty. Serves as a multi-skilled person dedicated to patient care management by promoting patient flow and administrative efficiency in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. The Advanced MSA will essentially be the "case coordinator" and follow patients from the beginning of their surgery to the post-operative appointments, making sure that any patient issues or problems may be multidisciplinary and are identified and resolved at the surgical subspecialty level. The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary care delivery model designed to optimize patient access to clinic appointments and surgical procedures at the SFVAMC. The Advanced MSA may be aligned with one of the following subspecialties under the Department of Surgery: General, Vascular, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Ortho, Plastics, Urology, or Podiatry. The Advanced MSA coordinates with the specialty team to review clinic utilization by using various reports in VISTA and tracking data from VSSC such as missed opportunities and no-shows. The Advanced MSA ensures that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments as needed. The Advanced MSA is largely responsible for coordinating and scheduling surgical procedures and all other related appointments. Other appointments may include Anesthesia Pre-Ops (APO's), History and Physicals (H&P's), radiology imaging appointments (EKG's, MRI's, Sonograms), coordinating with travel and arranging Hoptel lodging. This involves interdepartmental communication with a variety of different services. The Advanced MSA must maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team; notify patients of normal lab results; develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.). The Advanced MSA participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; may work with the team to reinforce the plan of care, facilitate solutions to issues that come up and document appropriate information into the electronic record; monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work); managing electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues. The Advanced MSA participates and provides input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings, performing administrative follow up actions; evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested; educating providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and bringing to the attention of the provider. Other duties include: Ability to maintain a daily census of patients, assist with bed control and management of patient admissions and discharges, ensures discharge summaries and operative reports are dictated in accordance with established guidelines, makes sure residents sign/dictate reports on a daily basis, inputs electronic on-call schedules for assigned subspecialty every month and updates as needed. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm or as determined by supervisor. Telework: This position may be eligible for telework Virtual: This is not a virtual position. 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. 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). Qualifications Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. Experience: Six months experience of clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position; OR, Education: One year above high school OR, Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable 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-06 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level -and- Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. 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. 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. 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. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. References: VA Handbook 5005/117; Part II; Appendix G45.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-05. This position is above the full performance level. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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, frequent keyboard usage, and 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. In addition, there can be increased stress due to the intensity of a patient/customer complaint or concern. Education There is no education substitution at this grade 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. 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.