Summary The Supervisory Medical Support Assistants (SMSAs) are assigned to the Business Development Service Line (BDSL) located at the Cheyenne VA Health Care System (CVAHCS) in Cheyenne, WY. This includes the Fort Collins, Northern Colorado, and Loveland Outpatient Clinics. Responsibilities Total Rewards Brochure: Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Medical Support Assistance: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdf Supervise the activities of MSAs across multiple areas, including Primary Care, Specialty Care, Mental Health, and Community Care, ensuring that patient care services are delivered efficiently. Manage the performance of at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff. Evaluate the work of subordinate staff, providing feedback, coaching, and corrective action as needed. Develop performance standards and evaluate staff performance regularly. Make final decisions on hiring, promotion, disciplinary actions, and resolving staff complaints. Ensure the proper training and development of all subordinate staff. Plan and prioritize work assignments, supervise technical and administrative functions, and provide leadership in resolving complex administrative problems. Maintain staff schedules, ensure adequate staffing levels for clinic operations, and adjust workload distribution to meet clinic needs. Oversee the scheduling program for the medical center and satellite clinics, ensuring compliance with VA policies and guidelines. Ensure the accurate and timely scheduling of patient appointments, monitor clinic availability, and make necessary adjustments to maximize patient access to care. Conduct weekly audits to ensure adherence to scheduling policies, tools, and metrics, and provide regular reports to senior management. Evaluate new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improving clinic operations and enhancing efficiency. Provide guidance to staff regarding changes in scheduling protocols, ensuring compliance with updated policies. Identify educational or training needs for MSAs, team leaders, and supervisors, and develop tailored training programs to address these gaps. Provide ongoing training and mentorship to staff, ensuring they have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their duties effectively. Lead training sessions on administrative processes, scheduling policies, and patient management systems, and track training compliance for all staff. Collaborate with other supervisors and department heads to ensure staff development is aligned with the organization's goals and priorities. Extract and analyze data to track key performance measures, including scheduling efficiency, patient access, and clinic utilization. Prepare detailed reports for senior management, providing insights into clinic operations and recommending improvements to enhance performance. Monitor key scheduling metrics, such as return-to-clinic orders (RTC), consults, and urgent scheduling needs, ensuring that all patient care requirements are met. Implement corrective actions based on data analysis to address discrepancies and improve operational efficiency. Meet the needs of customers (veterans, representatives, visitors, and VA staff) while supporting VA missions. Communicate courteously, tactfully, and respectfully with veterans, representatives, visitors, and staff. Provide veteran-centered care by emotionally supporting patients and their families and respecting their values and preferences. Respond to patient inquiries concerning medical, personal, and administrative matters, referring medical questions to clinical staff. Handle conflict and problems constructively and positively while listening and responding to customer concerns. Resolve complex patient service issues, ensuring that patients receive the care they need promptly and efficiently. Act as a liaison between MSAs, patients, and interdisciplinary teams to resolve conflicts, address administrative issues, and improve patient flow. Collaborate with clinical staff to ensure follow-up care is properly scheduled and completed, addressing any gaps or delays in the process. Ensure the smooth operation of clinic functions by overseeing the coordination of clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and community resources. Ensure compliance with policies for the security of sensitive data, including the Privacy Act of 1974. Maintain confidentiality and ensure access to sensitive information is limited to authorized staff. Report and address any violations of information security in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Use various office automation software (e.g., VISTA, CPRS, ICBWeb, ISS, CTM) to manage patient care. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 51653A 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 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 and Education: 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; (A transcript must be submitted with your application if you basing all or part of your qualifications on education) OR, Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. 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. 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). Grandfathering Provision. All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard (August 1, 2019) 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: (1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or changed to a lower grade within the occupation. (2) 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. (3) If an employee who was converted to Title 38 hybrid status under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Requirements Creditable Experience Knowledge of MSA Practices. 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. 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 a 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. 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 to 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. Grade Determinations In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met: Supervisory Medical Support Assistant, GS-8 Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level leading or supervising MSAs or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a non-VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Candidates must also demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to provide the full range of administrative and supervisory duties to at least one subordinate MSA supervisor or team leader in a patient support setting which includes assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation of awards and/or advancements. Ability to collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate customer service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers to ensure quality/continuity of care and ensure compliance with established policies and regulations. Ability to provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training in a patient support setting. Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs. Advanced knowledge of managing or leading patient support staff in a clinic. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment. Supervisory Medical Support Assistant (GS-8) Assignment: Supervisory MSAs at this level plan and direct programs at medical centers and/or satellite outpatient clinics. They have full responsibility for supervising at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a non-VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving complex problems to ensure patient services are met; evaluating new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improved operations; identifying educational or training needs; making final decisions on hiring selections; evaluating performance, and taking disciplinary action when necessary. The employee has administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the subordinate lead, supervisor, and MSA's activities. Responsible for extracting and analyzing data to provide reports to senior management in support of tracking measures. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. 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-8. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. While working in the clinic, physical demands include walking, getting up and down from sitting to retrieve various items and carrying items such as papers, folders, belongings, etc. Crouching and bending are required to file documents and attend to supply needs. Although constant demands, such as continually ringing telephones and continual work interruptions by staff and patients, sometimes make it very difficult for the medical support assistant to leave the work area for even a short period of time. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information 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.