Clarification from the agency

This position is open to VISN 12 employees

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Functions or Scope of Duties: Overall, Chief, Pharmacy Service is responsible for all aspects of pharmacy services at the Federal Health Care Center by maintaining effective interdepartmental relationships, demonstrating active problem resolution skills and close cooperation with other programs and services in accomplishing the medical facility mission and goals. Responsible for budget management, determining resource needs, allocating resources, ensuring proper utilization in productivity, efficiency, and cost effectiveness of the operation

Administrative:

• The Chief, Pharmacy Service will have prime responsibility for providing pharmaceutical services to the veteran patients and active duty served by the Federal Health Care Center and for the professional and administrative activities supporting these services.
• Supervises activities of all pharmacy staff including supervisors, pharmacists, technicians and clerical staff.
• Formulates short and long-term goals for the section and coordinates these with the goals of the Federal Health Care Center. Develops an action plan to accomplish these goals within the resources available. Prioritizes goals on a yearly, monthly and daily basis to produce the desired results.
• Prepares, estimates and justifies the annual budget requirements based on quarterly monetary needs for medications, supplies, equipment and personnel.

Clinical:

• Assesses clinical and operational pharmacy programs from a cost and patient outcome perspective.
• Provides direct pharmacist-lead specialty clinics and/or services.
• Responsible for the development, implementation and evaluation of programs which facilitate clinical activities including: a. Drug Use Evaluation, Quality Management and Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee decisions. b. Evidence based evaluation of therapeutic alternatives utilizing the most efficacious, least toxic, and most economic pharmacologic treatment modalities. c. Coordination of patient information from all healthcare providers.
• Functions as the subject matter expert advising pharmacy and hospital staff on pharmaceutical care policies in the Federal Health Care Center.

Program Management:

• Manages and implements an effective continuous quality assessment and improvement program for the Service.
• Promotes sound and economical personnel management reviews, identifying duties and responsibilities, and justifying personnel needs that are based on current programs and workload requirements.
• Coordinates efforts in maintaining appropriate records and in meeting the timely submission of all reports, Staffing Guidelines and other required information having to do with Pharmacy operations.
• Evaluates supervisors according to their performance in providing equal opportunity to all employees and identifies any need for further orientation and training in Equal Employment Opportunity for staff personnel.

Education:

• Develops training programs for pharmacy staff to expand professional capabilities. The goal of these programs is to increase staff competencies in the provision of pharmaceutical care. This includes competencies in the acquisition and analysis of clinical information, development and documentation of treatment regimens and monitoring programs.
• Ensures staff involvement and communication for development and implementation of policies and procedures.
• Facilitates patient and staff medication education programs.
• The incumbent is responsible for maintaining professional competency by keeping up with information on new drugs, new drug therapies, innovations in pharmacy practice, and integrating this information into his/her daily practice.

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 0800-1630
Compressed/Flexible:Not Available
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 08432F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• 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.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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.
• English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
• 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.) (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR
  • Must be a graduate of a foreign pharmacy degree program that meets 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). (DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED)
• 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. (MUST PROVIDE A COPY OF LICENSURE)

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements above, applicants must meet the following grade requirements.

Licensed Pharmacist

• Experience, GS-15
  • You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-14). Examples of specialized experience may include but not limited to: Skill in persuading others and gaining cooperation to accomplish goals, Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing regarding complex clinical and technical issues, Skill in utilizing regulatory and quality standards to develop and implement operational programs, Skill in managing multiple people or programs, Skill in utilizing available resources to support the mission and goals of the organization, Ability to plan, organize and direct the functions of the pharmacy staff
• AND
• In addition to the experience listed above, the Chief Licensed Pharmacist must demonstrate the following KSA's:
  • Skill in persuading others and gaining cooperation to accomplish goals
  • Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing regarding complex clinical and technical issues
  • Skill in utilizing regulatory and quality standards to develop and implement operational programs
  • Skill in managing multiple people or programs
  • Skill in utilizing available resources to support the missions and goals of the organization
  • Ability to plan, organize and direct the functions of the pharmacy staff.

Must also meet all of the following requirements:

1. Manages a complex medical center based pharmacy program that is defined as having multiple practice settings (e.g. hospital ambulatory care, long-term care, behavior health care) that require Joint Commission review as separate standards.
2. In addition to the medical center pharmacy, has responsibility for pharmacy services at one or more of the following: CBOCs, Rural Health Program, domiciliary, or provides dispensing and/or clinical services to State Veterans Home.
3. Presence of advanced clinical pharmacy programs that include pharmacist(s) that have approved scopes of practice with prescriptive privileges.
4. Pharmacy provides clinical pharmacist services to three (3) or more specialty areas such as, but not limited to, hemodialysis, oncology, operating room or an emergency department.

Must also meet at least two of the following:

1. An ASHP Accredited Pharmacy Residency Program.
2. A Research Program that is accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP).
3. Actively involved in committees or advisory/work groups at the VISN and/or National level.
4. An ongoing pharmacy student rotation in both the intermediate and advanced practice experience settings.

An ASHP Accredited Pharmacy Residency Program. Creditable Experience: To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with professional pharmacy practice. Professional practice means paid/non-paid employment as a professional or unlicensed graduate pharmacist as defined by the appropriate licensing board. Residency and fellowship training programs in a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis. The pharmacy residency program must be accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). A fellowship program that is not accredited by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) will need to have comparable standards for experience to be creditable (Professional Standards Board refers to the Deputy Chief Consultant for Professional Practice for the determination).
Quality of Experience: Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to pharmacy experience at the next lower level. Experience as a Graduate Pharmacist is creditable provided the candidate was used as a professional pharmacist (under supervision) and subsequently passed the appropriate licensure examination.
Part-time Experience: Part-time experience as a professional pharmacist is credited according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a pharmacist employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is 12.

Physical Requirements: The work involves prolonged periods of standing with some walking of generally short distances. There may be occasional lifting of weights up to 30 lbs. There may be mental fatigue due to repetitive screening and interpretation of medication orders. Applicants must be able to distinguish basic colors.

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.