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Pharmacist (Clinical Specialist)

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

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants are ineligible .



Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/01/2025 to 05/08/2025
Salary
$154,573 to - $200,947 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Murfreesboro, TN
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—Ad-Hoc
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
CBTG-12731034-25-SS
Control number
836287300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current, permanent VA Employees and Past/Current/Upcoming VHA HPT Graduates. Area of Consideration - Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent employees of the Tennessee Valley HCS 2. Current permanent employees of the Department of Veteran Affairs. 3. Past/Current/Upcoming VHA HPT Graduates. Note: must send proof such as an SF-50 with application

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Duties

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The Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner (CPP), Primary Care, utilizes expertise in the area of Primary Care to provide the following duties:

  • Attends and participates in team meetings, conferences, and other meetings as required for the purpose of making recommendations and providing consultation in all Pharmacy-related matters to Women's Health for the Pharmacy service line.
  • Directly assists other providers in rational medication selection by providing written and/or verbal consultation.
  • Is responsible for planning, developing, and maintaining effective clinical pharmacy programs by implementing rational cost-effective drug therapy to improve patient outcomes within medicine and specialty services.
  • Provides medication information to medicine and specialty team members as required.
  • Provides assistance in development of policies as requested.
  • Participates in developing criteria for drug utilization evaluations, data collection, trending reports, and other quality assurance activities as required to ensure appropriate and safe drug utilization.
  • Assists in initiation of medication use improvement strategies including development of quick order sets, clinical reminders, patient/provider education handouts, and development and implementation of pharmacotherapy protocols.
  • Ensures the safety and efficacy of the medication use process in the area assigned by reporting adverse drug effects, medication errors, and other quality issues.
  • Functions as an advanced practice provider for CMM services to achieve defined outcomes through direct interactions and patients and providers in assigned care area(s).
  • Interfaces with providers, including physicians, PAs, ARNPs in the design of the Veteran pharmacotherapy regimens to achieve optimization of rational and cost0effective drug therapy.
  • Utilizes computer expertise in interpretation of national dashboard analytics or development of local data extraction tools to help guide evidenced based prescribing for chosen disease states.
  • Performs limited external physical assessment and performs medication reconciliation in alignment with established policies or procedures.
  • Serves as an authoritative information source on drugs and their utilization in therapy.
  • Collaborates with other TVHS staff, educating the Veterans and caregivers regarding the proper use of medications.
  • Recommends and develops medication education materials for Veterans use as requested.
  • Provides formal education and training programs in the area of pharmacology, therapeutics, pharmacokinetics and related subjects to physicians, nursing staff and other health care professionals and trainees as appropriate.
  • Participates in design and /or completions of research studies and/or quality improvement projects involving drug therapy, clinical pharmacy functions, or improvements in patient care and presents it either at national meetings or publishes it in professionally representative publications.
  • Serves as preceptor of PGY-1 and PGY-2 residents' research projects as assigned.
  • Responsible for coordination and supervision of all pharmacotherapy management activities in Primary Care as assigned. This includes management of a clinical practice within area of expertise including scheduling, reviewing consults, finishing encounters to meet timeliness standards, providing patient care, and assuring coverage of clinical services during one's absence.
  • Participates in appropriate, effective and safe use of pharmaceuticals by contributing to criteria development, data collection and drug use evaluation and other quality improvement activities as assigned. Proactively identifies opportunities for quality improvement and track, trends, and documents efforts to impact facility quality metrics as assigned by supervisor.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, Based on the needs of the service.
Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 70849F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact VISN9HREDRP@va.gov , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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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.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • 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.
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

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: (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 Tect (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.
  • 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: GS-13
The following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12).
Assignment: 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 must demonstrate the following Full Performance 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

In addition to the experience, pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs):
1. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standard 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.

Preferred Experience: Doctor of Pharmacy degree plus (1),(2), or (3), below:

1) Completions of ASHP accredited PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice residency and Three (3) years of practice with substantial component of patient care activities acting as a mid-level provider with emphasis in Women's Health.

2) Completion BOTH an ASHP accredited PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice and a PGY-2 Ambulatory Care Residency with focus in chronic disease state management and three additional years of practice with a substantial component of patient care activities serving as mid-level provider with emphasis in Women's Health.

3) Completion of BOTH an ASHP accredited PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and a ASHP PGY-2 Specialty Ambulatory Care Residency with substantial component of patient care activities during the residency, serving as a mid-level provider with emphasis in Women's Health.

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.

Physical Requirements: Applicants must be able to perform the following duties: lifting (up to 50 lbs); carrying (up to 50 pounds). Applicants must have use of all fingers. Walking or standing for up to 8-hours. Kneeling intermittently multiple times for up to 8-hours. Use of both legs is required. Must possess visual acuity to read typed print. Keen hearing (aids permitted). Mental stability must be required to handle rigors of the position. The loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated by satisfactory use of prosthesis.

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/.

Additional information

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.

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, resume, 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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

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

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.

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