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Pharmacist - Informatics Program Manager

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This pharmacist supports the Chief of Pharmacy in managing/coordinating/prioritizing all assigned programs, initiatives, and secondary research at all divisions of Pharmacy Service related to Vista/CPRS, PC applications, pharmacy automation and other computer related activities. They also provide leadership in transitioning our Electronic Health Record from Vista/CPRS to Cerner. The incumbent is the department contact with OIT Service, facility CAC's and automation vendors for the Service.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/03/2020 to 12/12/2020
Salary
$128,675 to - $167,282 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
Anchorage, AK
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to occasionally travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBSV-10979422-21-CH
Control number
586139500

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Duties

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The incumbent performs analytical and evaluative work associated with line and program activities of Pharmacy Services within the Alaska VA Medical Center. The incumbent organizes and develops information to provide a solid base upon which Pharmacy Management can derive effective data-driven decision, in order to anticipate and meet the pharmaceutical needs of their customers, and goals of the Facility and Network. He/she coordinates the collection, analysis, and evaluation of data to achieve optimal utilization of available resources to include funding, assigned FTEE, space, equipment, and ADP support purchases. Additional duties will include, but are not limited to:

  • Trains new employees to operate all pharmacy packages accurately, efficiently, and responsibly, including basic computer operations, VISTA conventions, and use of individual packages.
  • Serves as coordinator for the implementation and verification of new packages, program development, enhancement, troubleshooting, and problem prevention. Serves as liaison to other departments on issues related with all pharmacy packages.
  • Interfaces with ADP coordinators from other services for the purpose of sharing information and menu options as appropriate, coordinating interrelated projects and consolidating mutual requests to IRMS and maintains pharmacy files for optimum function of pharmacy packages and other related facility packages ensuring uniform format and data accuracy. Files include: Drug file, IV additive file, Primary Solutions File, National Drug file, Allergy file, And inventory file.
  • Serves as a subject matter expert in generating reports, searches, and lists for service, facility, PBM, and pharmacy management through the knowledge, skill and ability of SQL, File man, Pyramid Analytics and MUMPS programming. Analyzes reports and provides objective decision support recommendations to pharmacy leadership in a timely manner.
  • Responsible for designing, modifying, and supporting management information systems and databases in a manner that will support and promote planning and implementation for all pharmacy programs.
  • Responsible for collection and analysis of data from a wide range of individuals, facilities, VA organizations, and external organizations. Works in close coordination with managers to provide workload and cost statistics. He/she will use multiple computer software programs and will access databases both within and outside of the network in order to write and present comprehensive technical statistical reports.
  • Maintains data related to all aspects of the pharmacy budget. Participates in developing the annual budget formulation for Pharmacy Service. Advises on resource requirements and allocations based on identified trends in workload and drug cost.
  • Conducts and directs special studies and analyses of complex issues including drug usage and cost (provider profiling) impacting on organizational expenditures. Will coordinate with Pharmacy Chief and PBM Pharmacoeconomics initiatives to implement preferred medication actions such as auto substitute efforts and others as needed.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Relocation/Recruitment Incentive: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to a background/security investigation
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

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.) OR 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).
Preferred Experience: Experience with Fileman, Vista/CPRS, Cerner

Grade Determinations: GS-13
Experience
- In addition to the basic requirements, you must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12).

Facility Program Manager. Manages all aspects of a distinct program to include policy development, quality resources and specialty functions unique to the program to optimize cost effectiveness (budget) and patient outcomes. Coordinates a single program area of a complex pharmacy operation, or multiple program areas within a facility to develop, organize, manage, and control complex pharmacy programs. Develops, organizes, coordinates and manages single or multiple program areas within the medical facility; this may include a single program area at multiple facilities. The Program Manager title is reserved for those individuals who have one or more of the following: supervisory responsibilities for various sections within Pharmacy Service; a complex program requiring coordination of multiple locations such as medical center care facilities, Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), rural health, telemedicine, etc; specialized areas of a complex nature such as nuclear pharmacy, quality assurance, pharmacy informatics, clinical applications coordinator, Home Based Primary Care, pharmacoeconomist or liaison pharmacist duties requiring the coordination of processes with other medical facilities or VISNs.

In addition to the basic requirements, Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  1. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
  2. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
  3. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
  4. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
  5. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.
References: VA Handbook 5005/55 Part II Appendix G15.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: Light toModerate lifting/carrying (Under 15lbs-44lbs), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers; walking (up to 4 hours) standing (up to 8 hours) ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Near vision (correctable at 13" to 16"Jaeger 1 to 4), Far vision (correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other); both eyes required. Environmental factors include; working alone, working closely with others, constant noise and dry atmospheric conditions. The position requires the use of a keyboard and computer terminal/equipment to record/chart clinical duties and to perform administrative duties such as developing reports, compiling data, drafting memorandum/policy and creating/editing other correspondence.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

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.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

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