### Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
#### 1 vacancy in the following location:
* Dayton, OH
##### Work Schedule is Full Time - Excepted Service Permanent
Opened Thursday 10/13/2016 (1 day(s) ago)
** Closes Wednesday 11/2/2016 (19 day(s) away)
## Job Overview
### Summary
Vacancy Identification Number (VIN): 1809750
The Dayton Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) is looking for applicants who possess integrity and character to become employees that are committed to serving our Nation's Veterans. Employees that place the needs of others ahead of their own, who treat all with dignity and respect, while consistently striving for excellence in their workmanship. Every position at the Dayton VAMC; regardless of job title, provides the opportunity to make a meaningful and personal contribution to America's Veterans. For more information on why choosing to work for the Department of Veterans Affairs is a good career choice, go to http://www.vacareers.va.gov/why-=choose-va/index.asp .
**OUR MISSION**: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise – "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" – by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans.
The city of Dayton, known as the birthplace of flight, is located in the beautiful rolling hills of Southwestern Ohio and is within an hour drive of Cincinnati and Columbus. The Dayton metropolitan has five universities', affordable real estate, excellent school systems, museums, theater, seasonal recreational opportunities, and is the home of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The Dayton VA Medical Center is a tertiary care facility that provides acute, nursing home, mental health hospice/palliative, and domiciliary care in an affiliated teaching and research environment. For more information about the Dayton area, please visit: http://www.daytongcvb.com
**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.**
### Duties
The incumbent is primarily assigned as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) to the PTSD Programs and Psychology Training Programs under Mental Health Service (MHS), reporting to the PTSD Programs Manager. This duty assignment requires initiative on behalf of the incumbent and the ability to prioritize tasks without immediate supervision. The incumbent is primarily based with the PTSD Clinical Team (PCT) and is responsible for a variety of administrative duties associated with providing comprehensive mental health care and administrative services to patients, assisting staff with mandatory tracking and reporting of service data, scheduling of patients, preparation of program materials and reports, ordering and inventorying program supplies, and other duties as assigned.
The incumbent is highly organized and has comprehensive knowledge of specialized and complex subject matter as it relates to MHS policies, procedures, continuum of care and performance measures. The incumbent has a broad working knowledge of quality assurance practices as they relate to the Mental Health Services at the Dayton VAMC and understands the significance of the performance measure(s) that pertain to the program.
The incumbent exercises independent judgement, demonstrates highly effective interpersonal skills with individuals and groups from the patient level, through professional to upper level management in local and community wide settings. The incumbent understands and complies with patient confidentiality and Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), and is knowledgeable about pertinent rules, regulations and policies of the MHS and Dayton VA Medical Center. Principle duties and responsibilities are, but not limited to the following:
* Collecting, compiling and/or tracking statistical information in support of program operations and to access status or outcomes in relation to established performance measures, goals, and objectives.
* Receives and processes documents and reports in accordance with established procedures, uses software applications to draw information from a wide variety of sources in order to prepare reports, and assists in the planning, review, and reporting of data/statistical results of program studies.
* Collaborate and communicate with the PTSD Teams, both outpatient and residential, the Psychology Training Committee, and the Mental Health Management on a variety of issues to include collecting, compiling and reporting all information for the Residential and/or Outpatient Programs, as well as psychology training programs, including practicum, internship, and postdoctoral training.
* Interviews patients applying for mental health benefits and services.
* Schedules new and established patient in the PTSD program, as well as assisting in scheduling for staff in other mental health programs.
* Answers telephone calls to the clinic, and returning phone calls in a prompt and courteous manner.
* Uses the Pre-Registration Menu option to validate the accuracy of enrolled patient's database on a regular basis.
* Ensures the Veterans are involved and informed through letters and/or telephone calls about their scheduled appointments and makes appointment reminder calls in order to minimize unnecessary cancellations, no-shows and rescheduling.
**Work Schedule: **1st Shift, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday
**Functional Statement Title/#: **Advanced Medical Support Assistant/000000
**This is a Bargaining Unit Position**
### Travel Required
* Not Required
### Relocation Authorized
* No
## Job Requirements
### Key Requirements
* Must pass pre-employment examination
* Must be proficient in written and spoken English
* Designated and-or Random Drug Testing required
* Background and-or Security Investigation required
* Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
* Application VA Form 10-2850c is required to be considered
* Must submit current SF50 showing grade and step
### Qualifications
**Basic Requirements:**
* **US Citizen**
* **Experience and Education**
(1) Experience. Six months experience of clerical, office, or other work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position; or
(2) Education. One year above high school; or
(3) 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.
* **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.
**Grade Determinations:**
**GS-6 MSA (Advanced MSA)**
(a) **Experience.** One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-05.
(b) **Assignment.** The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (i.e., patient aligned care team, or other specialty care setting where the patient aligned care team model is used such as oncology, HIV, SCI, Military Sexual Trauma, etc.). The Advanced MSA coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary), ensure that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments. They develop/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.). Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: participating 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 and self-help solutions and entering 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; participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings, performing administrative follow up actions; participating in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care; 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. 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.
(c) **Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.** Candidates must demonstrate the KSAs below:
1. Ability to collaborate, communicate, set priorities, and organize the work in order to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
2. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, both orally and in writing, in order to meet program objectives. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels.
3. Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process as it relates to access to care.
4. Advanced knowledge of managing a clinic. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.
5. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with operational activities that affect the patient flow, patient care, and the revenue process.
6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
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.
**References:** VA Handbook 5005/53, Part II, Appendix G45. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.
**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.
**Physical Requirements:** The work is mostly sedentary; however, there will be some periods of walking, bending, lifting and carrying of medical records may be frequently required. Work is primarily performed in an office setting located in the PTSD Clinic area at the Dayton VA Medical Center. The duties of supporting other service areas under the MH Programs (including coverage for the CBOCs, PSR and PC-MHI) may be achieved from this primary location but whenever necessary, the incumbent may be required to be physically present in a different work area in the MHS.
### Security Clearance
Public Trust - Background Investigation
## Additional Information
### What To Expect Next
After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. During our review, if your résumé and application package do not support your questionnaire answers, we will adjust your rating accordingly. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email (if provided); otherwise, applicants will receive a notification letter via the U.S. Postal Service. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USAJOBS account and clicking on “Application Status.” For a more detailed update of your status, click on “more information.” Information regarding applicant notification points can be found in the USAJobs Resource Center.
#### BENEFITS
VA offers a comprehensive benefits package. This link provides is an overview of the benefits currently offered: http://www.vacareers.va.gov/why-choose-va/benefits/index.asp.
### Other Information
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
*Salary Range:* $36,702.00 to $47,711.00 / Per Year
*Series & Grade:* GS-0679-06/06
*Supervisory Status:* No
*Who May Apply:* OPEN TO CURRENT PERMANENT NATIONWIDE VA EMPLOYEES ONLY
*Control Number:* 452980600
*Job Announcement Number:* KO-17-GW-1809750-BU