The pharmacist, Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) must be a licensed pharmacist and is accountable to a pharmacy supervisor as his/her assistant for providing leadership, direction, organization, planning, and implementation of pharmacy programs which promotes stewardship, patient centered care, enhances patient safety, and optimizes drug related outcomes in a cost- effective manner with evidence based pharmaceutical care. The incumbent has advanced prescribing privileges.
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. 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 InternetBased 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. NOTE: Individuals who have or have had multiple licenses and had any such license revoked for professional misconduct, professional incompetence or substandard care, or who surrendered such license after receiving written notice of potential termination of such licens e by the State for professional misconduct, professional incompetence, or substandard care, are not eligible for appointment to the position unless such revoked or surrendered license is fully restored (38 U.S.C. § 7402(f)). Effective November 30, 1999, this is a requirement for employment. This requirement does not apply to licensed pharmacists on VA rolls as of that date, provided they maintain continuous appointment and are not disqualified for employment by any subsequent revocations or voluntary surrenders of State license, registration or certification. (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. 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. English Language Proficiency. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). 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. GS-13 (a) Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (b) Assignments. Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. 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. 1. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. The clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) functions at the highest level of clinical practice, works independently under their scope of practice as defined by the individual medical center to directly care for patients. A CPS plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider who functions to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: designing, implementing, assessing, monitoring and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic and most economical medication treatments; helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams in assigned areas; performing physical assessments; and ordering laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs: a. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. b. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area. c. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise. d. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy. e. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. 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-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-13 to GS-13. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
Duties include but are not limited to: CLINICAL - DIRECT PATIENT CARE ACTIVITIES 1. Core functions include face-to-face and telephone encounters with referred patients, for comprehensive medication management in practice areas identified in their individual scope of practice. 2. Functions as a mid-level provider to design, implement, and monitor therapeutic drug plans to achieve definite outcomes through direct interactions with patients and providers in assigned areas. 3. Orders, performs, reviews, and analyzes appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies necessary to monitor and support the patient's drug therapy. 4. Follows-up with patients on lab or test results to discuss the plan of therapy, i.e. changes in medication therapy, monitoring, and additional testing requirements. 5. Clinical pharmacy Specialists will determine if a referral to the physician is necessary when disease progression occurs, or adverse drug events require treatment interventions outside of the CPS scope of practice. CLINICAL - INDIRECT PATIENT CARE ACTIVITIES 1. Identify patients who may benefit from comprehensive medication management through population management reports and during team huddles 2. Review patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness, drug selection, dosing, contraindications, side effects, potential drug interactions, and therapeutic outcomes as required. Communicates findings with prescribers and provides appropriate alternatives to current treatment plans as needed. 3. Monitor and report drug errors, adverse drug reactions, allergies, and patient compliance issues. Documents findings per facility procedures. 4. Apply knowledge of normal laboratory values in the evaluation of patient care, recognizes significant abnormalities, and makes dose adjustment recommendations based on objective laboratory findings. 5. Reviews and evaluates requests for non-formulary and restricted drugs for appropriateness and compliance with established criteria where applicable. 6. Assists Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee with medication use evaluations and other safety initiatives. 7. Promotes and monitors compliance for established drug therapy policies. 8. Works with providers to ensure compliance with national, VISN, and local initiatives. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 07:30am to 04:00pm Compressed/Flexible: No Telework: No Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized