Summary

The primary functions include the timely and accurate preparation and dispensing of medications to both inpatients and outpatients. Must exercise professional judgment in matters of appropriate dosing and therapeutic regimes. Rotates through different areas of Pharmacy Service: Outpatient - Inpatient (IV Admixture and Unit dose) and Clinical areas. The primary goal is facilitation of appropriate - safe - and cost effective drug therapy for our patients.

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
• 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.) 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)
• English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) - and 7407(d)
• 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
• GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist Experience or Education
• In addition to the basic requirements - candidates must meet one of the following: 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) - or Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs)
• Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following 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: Inpatient & Outpatient pharmacy 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
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

Duties

• Inpatient Evaluates physician orders and patient treatment for appropriateness of therapy - patient's response to therapy - adverse drug effects - pertinent laboratory monitoring - polypharmacy - cost containment issues and prescribing compliance with established protocols and criteria
• Verifies and processes inpatient unit dose medication orders in the VISTA Inpatient Medication package accurately
• Ensures inpatients medications are labeled appropriately (i.e.: inhalers)
• Processes and interprets IV orders and enters them into VISTA IV Admixture package
• Ensures IV medications (IV admixtures - IV piggybacks - TPN - etc.) are prepared accurately using aseptic technique
• Checks IVs prepared by Pharmacy Technicians or prepares accurately using aseptic technique
• Provides medications to wards via Omnicell
• Enters controlled substances dispensed or returned accurately and timely into the VISTA Controlled Substances package and Omnicell
• Supervises inpatient Pharmacy Technicians in all aspects of Unit Dose and/or IV Admixture areas
• Accurately checks all manually prepackaged medications using Prepackage Logbook - and checks automated packaging steps appropriately
• Responds to Pharmacokinetic Consult and appropriately orders labs and antibiotics
• Appropriately follows up on labs and follows protocol
• Outpatient Interprets new outpatient prescriptions and enters them into the VISTA Outpatient Pharmacy package appropriately - using professional judgment and VA guidelines
• Processes prescription refill requests via the VISTA Outpatient Pharmacy package appropriately
• Evaluates physician orders and patient treatment for appropriateness of therapy - patient's response to therapy - adverse drug effects - pertinent laboratory monitoring - polypharmacy - cost containment issues and prescribing compliance with established protocols
• Fills prescriptions timely - accurately - and appropriately using ScriptPro
• Checks prescriptions filled by Pharmacy Technicians using ScriptPro
• Dispenses prescriptions using ScriptPro - including asking patient to show Veteran ID Card (VIC)
• If no VIC - patient must have 2 other forms of identification (complete name and social security number)
• Supervises Pharmacy Technicians when filling - mailing and/or dispensing prescriptions - and compounding products
• Clinical Renews outpatient prescriptions when appropriate in CPRS
• Upon request - evaluates restricted and non-formulary requests - and applies national and local guidelines to arrive at an informed decision to approve or disapprove
• Consults with patients regarding how to take new medication appropriately - side effects and precautions
• Provides written drug information
• Consults with nurses concerning drug dosage - availability - and order changes
• Provides medication information to nurses - physicians - and other health personnels
• Provides inhaler patient information upon consult request
• Enters CPRS note upon consult completion
• Provides direct patient care activities via a variety of pharmacist run clinics (examples include anticoagulation clinic and new patient pharmacy consults)
• General Responsible for controlled substance accountability
• Represents Pharmacy Service at various committee meetings
• Responsible for various Pharmacy related projects
• Provides the highest level of professional and ethical behavior
• Work Schedule: 4 ten hour shifts that include alternating weekends and holidays based upon department needs
• Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 53080-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized