Lead Medical Support Assistant
About This Position
The Lead MSA will serve in the Care in the Community Service at VA Central Texas Health Care System (CTXVHCS), Temple, TX. The Lead Medical Support Assistant (LMSA) is a highly, specialized position and performs multiple duties. The incumbent will act in the capacity of liaison/expeditor between patients and clinical staff as well as specialty staff and ancillary services
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. high school diploma with desire for some post high school ed or equivalent exp. OR, Experience/Education Combination.
Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Certification. None required. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
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).
Grade Determinations: GS-7:Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level. Experience includes, but is not limited to: schedule, cancel, or re-schedule patient appointments and/or consults; enter no-show information; monitor appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participate in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic; monitor both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verify and update demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments; enter appropriate information into the electronic record; manage patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues.Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) below: Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources.
Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting. Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines. Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.
Ability to provide staff development and training. Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work.
Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.
Major Duties
Major duties include, but are not limited to: Responsible for reviewing the workflow of the OCC service. This includes all Community Care medical care functions. Works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model in Community care.
Administratively coordinates Community Care through a variety of health care delivery systems including the Mission Act, Patient Centered Community Care, Department of Defense (DoD) and traditional non-VA medical care. Independently manage position responsibilities with little supervision as well as set priorities and deadlines adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs. Frontline contact with patients and staff, the incumbent sets the tone for perception concerning quality of healthcare services at the VA.
He/she must determine the nature of requests and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes. Schedule appointments in accordance with current established VA/VHA Directives, Handbooks, policies, and procedures. Conducts special studies and works on special projects, specifically with the implementation of new programs and software.
Serve an additional training source of new staff and be responsible for the development of standards of work, provide input to job aids and materials used in the orientation process. Develops the Service training plan each fiscal year and the monthly training calendar of the days, times, and location of training programs for the service. Completes quality assurance studies of programs as required.
Incumbent assesses training program quality and effectiveness for continuous improvement. This requires the incumbent to monitor newly released Directives, Facility Policies, and released patches for their potential effect on end- users and employees on a regular basis. Monitors specific measures, quality, and quantity of documentation with the computerized medical record (CPRS), and the accuracy of medical documents attached within CPRS.
Updates Veterans' demographic information as appropriate. Participates in the staff huddles and other team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting workflow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient and unit needs. Analyzes segments of business process or transaction, and identifies indicators, progress measures, objectives, and emphasis areas for action for improvement.
Assists in the development, interpretation, application, and integration of objective criteria and acceptable standards for use in monitoring activities. Identifies problems and/or opportunities to improve care through such avenues as informal meetings, committee meetings, statistical data, occurrence screens, incident reporting, procedure case review, etc. Provide leadership and expertise to committees, study groups, and project assignments.
Additional duties or tasks may be assigned by the supervisor to ensure efficient daily operations. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 0700am - 1530 or 0730am - 1630pm Recruitment Incentive (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).
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 #: 53926F/Lead Medical Support Assistant Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Conditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment.
Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation.
Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
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/.
IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.
How You Will Be Evaluated
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social).
Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.
You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.
Additional Information
Receiving Service Credit for 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.
How to Apply
All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 06/04/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12964817. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account.
Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Resume SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.
Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field. The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.
Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Disability Letter (VA) License Other (1) PCS Orders Performance Appraisal Professional Certification Resume SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript