Clarification from the agency

Open to all US Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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This Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (Women's Health) position is in the Pharmacy Department at the VA Providence Healthcare System, located at the Providence RI location. This position is Full Time at 40 hours per week and functions within Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT).

The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist serves as a provider with prescribing privileges as outlined in the individual's Scope of Practice to perform Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM) in the primary care setting to women's health specific teams and general PACT teams. The women's health position provides specialized pharmacotherapy for the female veteran population, and serves as a subject matter expert for medication use within that specific population. Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Reviews and implements pharmacotherapy and treatment guidelines with providers with independent functions to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy.
• Actively involved in reviewing patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness, drug selection, dosing, contraindications, side effects, potential drug interactions, and therapeutic outcomes as required. Communicates findings to prescribers and provides appropriate alternatives to current treatment plan as needed.
• Works collaboratively with providers to provide pharmaceutical care to selected patients (e.g., hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, heart failure, COPD, pain, smoking cessation, anticoagulation, and anemia management) and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services.
• Serves as the primary or alternate consultant for the Home-Based Primary Care Service and as alternative consultants and back-up for CPP managed Specialty Clinics (Anticoagulation, Hepatitis C, and Erythropoietin clinics).
• Monitors for and reports drug errors, adverse drug reactions, allergies, and patient compliance issues. Documents findings per facility procedures.
• Participates in the training and in-servicing of medical staff, nursing staff, pharmacy staff, residents and students and other allied health professionals as required.
• Effectively instructs patients and family members in the appropriate use of medications and medical devices. Can accurately assess and document patient comprehension.
• Assists in the development, enhancement, and operation of resident and student training programs. May serve as preceptor for pharmacy students and pharmacy residents in accordance with established protocols.
• Assists in designing and completing research studies involving clinical pharmacy functions, quality assurance, drug use evaluation or pharmacotherapy.

Notifications:

• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• This position is on a special salary rate.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.

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.
• 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.
• May be subject to satisfactory completion of our credentialing process.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

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.
• 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).
• License: 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).

GS 12 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.

The candidate must demonstrate the experience or education above as well as 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.

GS 13 Experience: In addition to the GS-12 requirements, candidates must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. 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.

The candidate must demonstrate the experience above as well as 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.

Preferred experience: Have 2 years of experience working as a clinical pharmacy specialist, with 1 year specializing in women's health.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting (14-44 lbs.); reaching above shoulder; moderate carrying (15-44 lbs.) use of fingers; walking (3 hours per day); standing (up to 8 hours per day); both legs required; ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; near vision correctable at 13" to 16"; far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other; ability to distinguish basic colors; hearing aid permitted.

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.