Pharmacy services are provided to all Veteran patients receiving care in the patient areas of the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System (CTVHCS). A pharmacist in this assignment handles routine medication-related activities in accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and regulations.
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: a. Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Noncitizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.) b. 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. Verification of approved degree programs may be obtained from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, Illinois 60602-5109; phone: (312) 664-3575, or through their Web site at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/. (NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.) (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). c. 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. (1) Exception. Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 2 years for a pharmacist that provides care under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. For grade levels above the GS-11, the candidate must be licensed. (2) Failure to Obtain License. In all cases, pharmacists must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure starting from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the unlicensed pharmacist with the written requirement to obtain licensure, the date by which the license must be acquired, and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. Failure to become licensed within 2 years from date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0660 Pharmacist series and may result in termination of employment. d. Grandfathering Provision. All licensed pharmacists employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are 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) Employees grandfathered into the GS-660 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (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. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration, that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. (3) If a licensed pharmacist who was retained 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. e. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. f. 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment in paragraph 2, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. (1) GS-11 Pharmacist (a) Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. (NOTE: See exception to licensure requirement in subparagraph 2c(1) above.) (b) Assignment. Pharmacists at this grade level serve in a developmental capacity. (2) GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Full Performance Level) (a) 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. (b) 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; 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 Grade Determination Continued in the Education Section Below: Preferred Experience: Outpatient VA Pharmacy experience. Outpatient IHS/DOD pharmacy experience. Retail chain/independent experience. 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: Light lifting, under 15 pounds; Moderate carrying, 15-44 pounds; Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Standing (6 hours); Repeated bending (1 hours); Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Hearing (aid may be permitted); Mental/Emotional Stability
Major duties include, but are not limited to: GS-11: Clinical: 1. Providing pertinent information concerning the proper use of medications. 2. Providing drug information to physicians, nurses, and other associated healthcare professionals. 3. Acts as liaison between the wards or other patient care areas and the pharmacy distribution area, helping to solve problems, clarify orders, provide additional information needed, and to improve communications. Education: 1. Maintaining and obtaining clinical drug knowledge necessary to provide clinical pharmacy services. 2. Providing in-services to the nursing staff and other professional and paraprofessional groups. Administrative: 1. Assisting in the orientation and training of all new employees, students, technicians, and trainees, and assist in their evaluation by providing feedback as to their progress and performance. 2. Assuming the responsibility for the immediate supervision and operation of the area to which assigned; including the supervision of technicians and students, organizing work flow, and handling all routine problems and responsibilities associated with that area. Works generally with supervision by the pharmacy supervisor. GS-12: Clinical: 1. Performs patient medication profile reviews upon entering orders and utilizes knowledge of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacotherapeutics to evaluate orders for appropriateness. Ensures appropriate laboratory monitoring of drug therapy and provides pharmacokinetic services. Follows guidelines, protocols, and policies in performing these services. 2. Along with using prudent clinical judgment, the incumbent utilizes available resources including laboratory and other diagnostic data to communicate questionable therapy, non-formulary therapy or therapy outside of established criteria to prescribers and offers reasonable alternatives, responding to requests in a timely manner. 3. Provides medication and disease state management information and participates in other educational endeavors including patient and family education and medical/nursing staff education. 4. Participates in Drug Utilization Evaluations and actively documents and reports Adverse Drug Events in addition to medication errors. 5. Renews expired chronic medications to stable patients with future primary care appointments. Follows applicable policy and procedures when renewing prescriptions. Drug Dispensing: 1. Enters, processes, and/or edits new prescription orders from providers accurately 2. Processes refills, partials, renewal prescription requests timely 3. Accurately dispenses prescriptions, medication orders, and supplies. Fills prescriptions by selecting the correct drug and dosage form, reducing the drug from bulk to the quantity prescribed, compounding when necessary, then packaging and labeling the drug in an appropriate manner. 4. Exercises care in the dispensing of drugs, especially controlled substances, investigational and cytotoxic drugs, to assure that legal and agency regulations and instructions are followed, that proper and complete recordkeeping is maintained, and that the drug storage areas are stocked, safe, and secure. 5. Reviews the patient medication profile prior to dispensing drugs and medications. 6. Responsible for special formulations, and for extemporaneous compounding of routine and special medications requiring complex compounding procedures. 7. Checks technician-prepared orders when necessary Administrative/Supervisory: 1. The incumbent is knowledgeable of, adheres to and applies established policies and procedures during the performance of duties. 2. Incumbent is responsible for supervising the organization of workflow and finished products prepared by Pharmacy Technicians. The incumbent is also responsible for being cognizant of workload situations which may require his/her direct intervention to maintain Customer Service Standards and is a willing participant of the Pharmacy Team to assist colleagues in handling these workload situations when necessary. 3. Incumbent provides administrative consultations to patients and other CTVHCS employees concerning pharmacy policies, and regulations to resolve problems and or concerns in a caring, professional manner. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:00 am to 4:30 pm or 1:00 pm - 9:30 pm; OR Sunday - Thursday - 4:00 pm - 12:00 am (midnight) or 1:00 pm - 9:30 pm Telework: Ad-hoc Telework May Be Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized