Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. Veterans' Preference is not applicable.

Videos

The Pharmacy Department at the Columbia Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Columbia, South Carolina is actively recruiting for a GS-13 Pharmacy Supervisor - Inpatient Services. The incumbent will be responsible for the professional and administrative management of the inpatient sections of Clinical Pharmacy Service, to include Acute Medicine, Critical Care, Community Living Center, Mental Health Inpatient, Medication Reconciliation, Emergency Department/Urgent Care, Specialty Services, and Pharmacy Resident Staffing. Expectations include managing people, maintaining effective interdepartmental relations, and collaboration with other services to accomplish the medical facility's mission and goals.

Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties:

Administrative and Supervisory

• Provides first-line coordination and oversight for clinic pharmacy specialists' pharmacy work activities, including staff leave and scheduling, staff work assignments, order verification processes, veteran and non-veteran customer services, and regulatory compliance regarding medication control and security.
• Communicates and coordinates with purchasing and inventory control personnel to ensure appropriate communication and adequate stock of inventory based on needs for specialty and/or prior authorization drug request medications following review and consult approval.
• Monitors and provides first-line oversight of all Inpatient Clinical pharmacy work related activities (e.g., formulary management, provider order entry activities, disease state management, patient counseling, medication reconciliation, controlled substance processing, etc.) and adjusts staffing and personnel assignments based on workload needs.
• Creates and preforms annual review of inpatient medication order-sets to enhance ordering consistency, efficiencies, patient safety, and cost controls.
• Monitors and supports Inpatient Clinical Pharmacy compliance with existing regulatory rules, laws, and standards.
• Assists in the recommendation, drafting and implementation of departmental policies and procedures.
• Helps to monitor and ensure compliance with the department's and hospital's policies and procedures.
• Provides first-line personnel management.

• Provides pharmaceutical care utilizing an advanced in-depth knowledge of current literature and contemporary practice of medications.
• Monitors and manages drug therapy for veterans referred with chronic disease to achieve optimal outcomes as measured by VHA Clinical Performance Measures of Provider Guidance.
• Completes drug adherence assessment and assists the provider with medication management challenges (e.g., nonadherence, drug adverse event identification and reporting, polypharmacy, drug-drug interactions, etc.) as needed.
• Improves clinical care to veterans through interventions to reduce the frequency of drug related problems and adheres drug events.
• Monitor veteran patients referred who are prescribed anticoagulant drug therapies per local and national policies. Makes drug dosage adjustments as necessary to maintain therapeutic levels.
• Serves as an authority on appropriate pharmaceutical care provision to patients for medical, nursing and pharmacy staff. Recognized as a drug information resource.
• Evaluation of a wide variety of patients in selected patient care areas with appropriate recommendations regarding drug therapy.

• Supports provider order entry verification, (inpatient and outpatient prescription processing), disease state management, drug utilization reviews, medication reconciliation, prior authorization request adjudication, and patient counseling as required.
• Be proficient with CPRS, DHCP/VISTA and automative dispensing machines to accomplish the routine duties of a staff clinical pharmacist (e.g., complete pending prescriptions, and prescription verification.

• Helps to orient new employees in overall procedures and activities of the Inpatient Clinical Pharmacy Section.
• Assists with the training responsibilities for Pharmacy residents and students during their rotation period through Inpatient Clinical Pharmacy Services, as well as for other Pharmacy and Medical staff on an ongoing basis.

• Performs other duties as assigned and deemed essential to the efficient operation of the pharmacy department. Incumbent may be required to periodically work irregular shifts as required and may occasionally be called back in for emergencies.

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:

a. United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
b. 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 Test (TOEFL iBT).

c. 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.

NOTE: Individuals who have or have had multiple licenses and had any such license revoked for professional misconduct, professional incompetence or substandard care, or who surrendered such license after receiving written notice of potential termination of such license by the State for professional misconduct, professional incompetence, or substandard care, are not eligible for appointment to the position unless such revoked or surrendered license is fully restored (38 U.S.C. § 7402(f)). Effective November 30, 1999, this is a requirement for employment. This requirement does not apply to licensed pharmacists on VA rolls as of that date, provided they maintain continuous appointment and are not disqualified for employment by any subsequent revocations or voluntary surrenders of State license, registration or certification.

(1) Exception. Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of 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:

GS-13
(a) Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
(b) Assignments. Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Pharmacy Supervisor. Responsible for the professional and administrative management of an assigned area in pharmacy service, to include budgetary execution. Such individuals have responsibilities for supervising multiple pharmacists and technicians. Manages people, maintains effective interdepartmental relations, and cooperates with other services to accomplish the medical facility's mission and goals. Develops performance standards, assures that the program area is compliant with all regulatory and accrediting body requirements, designs and implements orientation and training programs for staff, and develops and maintains systems to monitor the performance of staff activities. Develops policies and procedures relative to their assigned area.

Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:
a. Ability to effectively supervise subordinate staff.
b. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
c. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards pertaining to pharmacy.
d. Skill in managing people or programs

Preferred Experience: Highly qualified candidates will have previous supervisory or team lead experience or PGY2 applicable to supervisory practice area (Acute Care, Critical Care, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, Geriatrics), and experience as a clinical pharmacy specialist with a scope of practice within the aforementioned practice areas.

References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/55 PART II APPENDIX G15

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant will be selected for this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

How you will be evaluated

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

Area of Consideration- Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.

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.