Clarification from the agency

This is an internal announcement open to Current Orlando VA employees/HPT and recent VA Grads interested To verify your standing as a current/past/upcoming HPT graduate, you must submit a copy of your latest Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50), the FL-294 (or a WOC appointment letter). NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• The pharmacist provides appropriate selection of drug therapy based upon the pharmaceutical principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; monitoring for efficacy, side effects and clinical outcome; and advises prescribers as appropriate.
• Provides patient-specific therapeutic drug monitoring and communicates relevant findings and/or recommendations to other health care providers in charge of the patient both orally and in writing. Monitoring will include prospective review and intervention in:
  • Therapeutic appropriateness of a patient's drug regimen
  • Therapeutic duplication in the patient's drug regimen
  • Appropriateness of the route and method of administration
  • Degree of patient compliance with the prescribed drug regimen
  • Drug-drug, drug-food, drug-laboratory, or drug disease interactions
  • Clinical and pharmacokinetic laboratory data to evaluate the efficacy of drug therapy and to anticipate side effects, toxicity, or adverse effects
  • Physical signs and clinical symptoms relevant to the patient's drug therapy
• Performs continuous evaluation of prescribed medications to assure optimal drug therapy.
• Provides medication counseling to patients.
• Completes medication histories including patient interviews.
• Serves as a drug information resource by providing up-to-date drug information to prescribers, other health care professionals, patients and caregivers.
• Reviews charts, evaluates pertinent laboratory data, drug-drug and drug-nutrient interactions, monitors for adverse drug effects, and screens for allergies.
• Performs medication reconciliation at all transitions of care, including updating the medication profile to reflect an accurate, active list of VA and non-VA medications. This may include adding non-VA medications or discontinuing duplicate medications or those the patient is not taking.
• Assesses drug safety and efficacy, including evaluation of physical symptoms.
• Reports adverse drug events (ADE), near misses, and medication errors in alignment with VA ADERS reporting program.
• Participates in the medical center medication utilization evaluation (MUE) program.
• Recommends formulary alternatives and completes non-formulary consults as assigned.
• Participates in medical emergencies including code teams (if BLS or ACLS certified) and emergency preparedness activities,
• May provide pharmacokinetic consultation, including dosing vancomycin and aminoglycosides, in accordance with local policy.
• Implements P&T Committee policies including therapeutic interchanges and automatic substitutions to include appropriate patient and provider education.
• Manages recalls and medication shortage situations by substituting alternate dosage strengths and instructions of the same medication to equal the prescribed dose and schedule.
• Enters supply orders appropriate for patient care per facility policy.
• Manages various actions, as appropriate, for medication orders to include; flagging prescriptions, managing view alerts, using the "hold medication" function (for outpatient medications only), and generating unsigned discontinued orders per hospital policy.
• If it has been determined that during the process of a transfer that patient has or will miss a dose of a scheduled medication, the pharmacist will have the ability to enter a NOW dose of that medication without need to contact the provider.
• The ability of the Inpatient Pharmacist to enter a NOW dose or discontinue a duplicate order as described above will be limited to situations where there is currently an active order for that medication on the new ward. Under no circumstance, will the pharmacist restart or enter a new medication order without a telephone order from a provider.
• Extends refills until next scheduled appointment under the provider's name per facility policy.
• Participates and aids in the training of new employees including pharmacists and technicians.
• Assumes an active role in staff development of peers and may provide educational in-services to nursing, medical staff or to other ancillary services.
• The pharmacist is responsible for maintaining his/her professional competency by keeping abreast of current medical and pharmaceutical literature, new drugs and therapies, and applies this knowledge in his/her daily duties.

Work Schedule: Employees may be required to work day, evening, night, weekend , holiday and or compressed, tours on a rotating schedule. The hours may vary per the needs of the service and will rotate, on a fair and equitable basis, to include weekends and holidays.
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 82336F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN8CCOE@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

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-Documentation Submitted: (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 2 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).

Licensure-Documentation Submitted: 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. 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).

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.

Grade Determinations: Grade 12

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 12.

Physical Requirements: The incumbent must satisfactorily complete a pre-employment physical to include moderate lifting (15-44 pounds), light carrying 15 lbs. or less, straight pulling, reaching above the shoulder with the use of both hands and fingers, ability to distinguish basic colors and shades of colors, which is required for this position.

How you will be evaluated

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

Area of Consideration:

• Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
• Health Professional Trainees (HPTs)*

Note: Qualification for trainees will be considered based upon their projected qualifications at the time of appointment/EOD, not at the time of recruitment. To verify your standing as a current/past/upcoming HPT graduate, you must submit a copy of your latest Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50), the FL-294 (or a WOC appointment letter).


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.