"Alerted.org

Summary The Clinical Pharmacist s the primary specialist in clinical and distributive functions within the clinic pharmacy. Incumbent acts as the custodian, distributor and consultant for all pharmaceutical agents and adjuncts, including their national uses and appropriate administration. Occasional travel to provide pharmacist coverage at pharmacies within VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System (VATXVCBHCS) Responsibilities VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn\_ickNBEws Duties outlined are at the GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist. A pharmacist in this assignment handles routine medication-related activities in accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and regulations. These include, but are not limited to: reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; contacting providers as appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies; taking health and medication histories; performing medication reconciliation; providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions, nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; documenting and assessing adverse drug events (ADEs); assisting in medical emergencies; providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of medication distribution. Clinical/Professional: 1. Consults with physicians and other providers on appropriate pharmaceutical treatment regimens for patients. 2. Provides consultation to physicians and other health care professionals on both basic and specific information concerning formulary alternatives. 3. Spends up to 25% of time providing clinical services to clinic patients, providers, and other clinic staff. 4. Provides patient consultation concerning individual drug therapy and related problems and needs. 5. Evaluation of non-formulary consults in accordance with VA criteria for use of non-formulary medications. 6. Monitors use of non-formulary medications on discharge and fee prescriptions to ensure that VA patients receive appropriate medications according to VA criteria of use. 7. Processes pharmacy interventions regarding medication changes in therapy, drug-interactions, drug allergy processing, dosage errors, and other pharmacy interventions. 8. Notifies providers of appropriate changes to medication orders and make appropriate recommendations. 9. Records pharmacy interventions in appropriate intervention software to track and trend interventions for quality assurance purposes. 10. The pharmacist provides appropriate selection of drug therapy. 11. Provides patient-specific therapeutic drug monitoring. 12. Performs continuous evaluation of prescribed medications to assure optimal drug therapy. 13. Provides medication counseling to patients. 14. Completes medication histories including patient interviews. 15. Serves as a drug information resource to health care professionals, patients, and caregivers. 16. Participates in patient care rounds, review charts, evaluates pertinent laboratory data, drug-drug, and drug-nutrient interactions, monitors for adverse drug effects, and screens for allergies. Dispensing: 1. Interprets and evaluates physician medication orders for both accuracy and appropriateness. 2. Verifies provider medication orders in VistA to include drug interaction monitoring, proper dose, rate, and dosage form. 3. Utilizes all applicable manual, automated and computerized prescription processing, and dispensing systems. Education/Training: 1. Assists in the training of new pharmacy staff. 2. Participates in in-service training programs for house staff (i.e., CPR instructor) 3. Serves as a preceptor to students of Affiliated Schools of Pharmacy. Safety: 1. Comply with safety and environmental rules and regulations for safe job performance. 2. Use and maintain personal protective equipment when required and provided. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday with alternating tours, 8:00am to 4:30pm and 9:00am to 5:30pm. The tour of duty for this position will be a rotating schedule through Outpatient Pharmacies, as determined by the Chief of Pharmacy, for the needs of Pharmacy Service. Telework: AD-HOC (Employees who telework on an occasional, episodic, or short-term basis, and have completed required telework training and telework agreement.) (Portion of day acceptable) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 43587-F, 53588-F 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. 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Possess a valid, unrestricted State driver's license. 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. 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. Education: (1) Graduate of an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. (2) Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the graduate is able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification, which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet Based Test (TOEFL iBT). Licensure. Full, current and unrestricted license to practice pharmacy in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or the District of Columbia. The pharmacist must maintain current registration if this is a requirement for maintaining full, current, and unrestricted licensure. A pharmacist who has, or has ever had, any license(s) revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16. English Language Proficiency. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). 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-11 Pharmacist Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. Assignment. Pharmacists at this grade level serve in a developmental capacity. GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Full Performance Level) Experience or Education. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must meet one of the following: 1. 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, or 2. Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program. Assignment. A pharmacist in this assignment handles routine medication-related activities in accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and regulations. These include, but are not limited to: reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; etc. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs): 1. Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice. 2. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff. 3. Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security. 4. Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. Preferred Experience: 1. Unencumbered license from an accredited School of Pharmacy 2. Previous pharmacy experience in a busy retail/outpatient pharmacy 3. Comprehensive knowledge of pharmacy workflow to include pharmacy operations as well as pharmacy administration and paperwork 4. Possesses ability to analyze systems and streamline processes to maintain and improve patient care through the most efficient and timely delivery of prescription medications to VA patients. 5. Comprehensive knowledge of pharmacy to efficiently offer cost effective, criteria-based medication therapy outcomes for VA patients 6. Possesses personal skills and ability to interact with tact, courtesy, and diplomacy to represented pharmacy service professionally when interacting with external and internal customers 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-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-12. Physical Requirements: The position will require moderate lifting (15-44 pounds), moderate carrying (15-44 pounds), straight pulling (1 hour), pushing (1 hour), reaching above shoulder, walking (2 hours), standing (2 hours), repeated bending (2 hours). Medical Requirements: Applicants must be able to distinguish basic colors. 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/. NOTE: If your school was accredited by Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the ACPE website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet. NOTE: Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the graduate is able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification, which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT). 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.