Clarification from the agency

This job is open to Current, permanent employees at the James H. Quillen VAMC and the Department of Veterans Affairs employees. Facility Employees will have FIRST consideration, followed by Agency Employees. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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The incumbent's responsibilities is oversight of the outpatient section that provides full pharmaceutical services to all outpatients and to patients being discharged from the hospital. Outpatient services are provided twelve hours daily seven days a week, while maintaining an efficient operation based upon current requirements, and analyze trend and develop plans and strategies for future needs.

Duties include and are not limited to:

Administrative/Supervisory:

1. Supervise all professional and nonprofessional staff assigned to the outpatient section, developing schedules to distribute staff and accomplish tasks in all areas of the section.
2. Administer attendance and leave, coordinating vacation schedules, military leave, extended sick leave, etc. This includes the efficient use of temporary and part-time personnel and volunteers.
3. Develops and revises service or station policies to reflect current practice, meet all needs, and comply with established medical center and central office requirements.
4. Interviews applicants for certain pharmacy positions and makes recommendations for selection to upper management.
5. Evaluate certain pharmacy employees based upon systemic review of performance using computer generated reports, spot checks on actual work performed, input from other employees or hospital personnel.

1. Oversee the operations of both window and mail out services for a large ambulatory care program, with total volume over 800,000 prescriptions yearly.
2. Coordinate the review and filling of prescriptions submitted as part of the Community Care program. Ensure compliance to eligibility and formulary restrictions for such prescriptions.
3. Oversee the outpatient narcotic distribution process, and is responsible for accurate maintenance of all records associated with controlled drug accountability. Assure proper security of all drugs, supplies, and equipment for the section.

1. Oversees and directly participates in the training of new staff and in the continuing education process for all employees.
2. Trains staff in patient education techniques and works with other services to develop patient education programs dealing with medications.
3. Assures proper training of professional and nonprofessional staff on all pertinent aspects of outpatient DHCP program.

1. Serves as an authority on drug usage, interactions, overdoses, and compliance to medical staff, pharmacy staff and students.
2. Performs quality assurance audits, drug utilization review activities, and develops reporting mechanisms to assure cost effective use of medications.
3. Works with the clinical pharmacy coordinator(s) to expand clinical activities. Develops mechanisms to measure outcome of interventions and ways to report results through proper administrative channels.

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.
• 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

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).

1. Reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness.
2. Processing and filling medication orders.
3. Interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care.
4. Reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems.
5. Contacting providers as appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies.
6. Taking health and medication histories; performing medication reconciliation; providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions, nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; documenting and assessing adverse drug events (ADEs).
7. Assisting in medical emergencies; providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of medication distribution.

• Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff.
• Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security.
• Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

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.