Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This position is open to current, permanent Department of VA employees as well as Former or Current VHA HPT Graduates.

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The ambulatory care clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) is responsible for planning, implementing and operating the clinical pharmacy programs he/she is assigned to cover in the primary care (including Home Based Primary Care) or any of the specialized areas of pharmacy. The CPS generally has at least two years of experience related to clinical pharmacist duties in ambulatory care/geriatrics or has advanced training (i.e. residency training) or board certification. He/she is the medication expert in this assigned area.
Duties included but not limited to:

• Accepts a shared responsibility for the overall management of clinic, including but not limited to developing & maintaining clinic grids, sustaining clinic utilization, managing missed opportunities, coordinating clinic cancellations, and restructuring as necessary to effectively maintain patient care in response to staffing needs.
• The incumbent plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a midlevel provider to initiate, modify, or discontinue medication therapy, except for controlled substances, and as a consultant for the providers of the medical center.
• The incumbent 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.
• Responsible for developing, organizing, coordinating, and managing all aspects of clinical pharmacy functions for their assigned teams, attends and participates in multidisciplinary rounds, team meetings, conferences, and other meetings as required for the purpose of making recommendations and providing consultation in all Pharmacy-related matters.
• Coordinate medication orders with central pharmacy or CMOP when necessary.
• Functions independently in day-to-day clinical and administrative duties associate with the position, consulting with higher level supervisors only when required.
• Orders supplies to support medication compliance and accurate medication administration (e.g., syringes, needles, tablet splitters), in accordance with VA medical facility policy.
• Precepts PGY-1 and PGY-2 pharmacy residents and students including providing constructive feedback regarding quality of educational experience and preceptor interaction/involvement.
• Responsible for identifying, measuring, and reporting relevant outcomes as related to specific clinical pharmacy practice. Critically analyzes outcomes to assess overall quality of patient care and to recognize areas of improvement and/or significance.
• Orders laboratory tests as necessary to evaluate and monitor medication therapy.
• Contributes to budgetary stewardship by incorporating cost savings initiatives into clinical practice and identifying potential cost reduction opportunities to improve overall health care services.
• Demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to adult and geriatric patients in his or her assigned unit, area or department.
• Effectively communicates with providers to establish positive interprofessional relationships, influence clinical care decisions, and solve technical issues related to clinical practice independently as needed.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday. Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 60655F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact VHAEDRPProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
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.)
  • 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).
• 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.


Grade Determinations:
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, GS-13
Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
At the GS-12 grade level, the clinical pharmacist handles routine medication-related activities in accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and regulations. These include, but are not limited to: reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; contacting providers as appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies; 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); assisting in medical emergencies; providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of medication distribution. Pharmacists at the GS-12 level must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs):

• 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.

Additionally, applicants must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
• Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
• Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
• Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
• Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

Preferred Experience: Completion of an ASHP accredited pharmacy residency program with >/=50% of practice in ambulatory care setting or current/previous experience providing direct patient care under a primary care scope of practice.

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-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.

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.

RESUME REMINDER: Your resume must include the following information each job listed:

• Job title; Duties (be as detailed as possible);
• Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008);
• Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week);
• Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held.

Area of Consideration: Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: 1) Current, Permanent employees of the Ralph H Johnson VA Medical Center, 2) Current, permanent employees of the Department of VA at all other locations and 3) Former or Current HPT Graduate applicants.

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.