Clarification from the agency

Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility. 2. All other VA employees. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Videos

The Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) is a two-division campus located in Cincinnati, OH and Fort Thomas, KY serving 15 counties in Southwest OH, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana with 6 Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Bellevue, KY; Florence, KY; Lawrenceburg, IN; Hamilton, OH; Clermont County, OH, and Georgetown, OH. The CVAMC also supports two off main campus locations in the Cincinnati area via an Eye Center and Mental Health Outreach Community Division.

Duties:
a. Program Management:

• Oversight of Omnicell inventory management for the assigned programs.
• Serves as Supervisory Pharmacist when designated.
• Oversees daily tasks of the FTD Pharmacy Technician.

b. Clinical:

• Evaluates a variety of patients, which may include patients followed by the FTD Mental Health programs, and patients referred to the FTD Pharmacy PTSD Clinic. Makes appropriate recommendations on drug therapy, assesses efficacy and toxicity, and develops pharmaceutical care plans, including establishment of outcome goals. Under a scope of practice, implements the pharmaceutical care plan.
• Develops, implements, and maintains Clinical Pharmacy Clinics as part of the TRC, SARRTP, and DCHV programs, and outpatient mental health clinics as assigned.
• Serves as a liaison between Pharmacy Service and the assigned Mental Health Care Line clinical, education, and research areas.
• CPS has or may have patient appointment scheduling duties. Before being given access to the VistA scheduling package, the incumbent will complete all required training and will annually retrain to remain compliant.
• Assists in the management of medical emergencies.
• Within a scope of practice, initiate, modify, or discontinue medications, order, perform, review and/or analyze appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies to monitor and support medication therapy, perform physical assessment as appropriate for assessing and monitoring medication therapy, and initiate consults to other services as needed (e.g. Dietician).
• Completes comprehensive suicide risk assessment and refer to appropriate clinicians when needed.
• Completes clinical reminders and screenings as relevant to psychiatric and substance use disorders care and treatment.
• Assists in treatment planning that ensures continuity of care for patients leaving the programs.
• Works with patients who have been identified as having compliance/adherence issues with their medications.
• Serves as a consultant within Pharmacy Service, and with other facility healthcare staff in monitoring and evaluating healthcare delivery to inpatient and outpatient mental health patients.
• Participates in the focused and ongoing professional practice (FPPE & OPPE) evaluation process.

Dispensing:

• Evaluates and processes providers' orders for the FTD program patients, clarifying unclear orders with the provider when necessary.
• Reviews medication orders for appropriateness, drug selection, dosage, route of administration and the amount, prior to dispensing.
• Ensures medication orders are entered into the electronic patient medical record.
• Reviews patients' allergy history, drug-drug, drug-nutrient, drug-laboratory and drug disease state interactions and assesses for clinical relevance.
• Provides pharmacist staffing assistance in the Outpatient Pharmacy as scheduled by supervisor.

Education/Research:

• Serves as a role model and preceptor for pharmacy students and pharmacy residents. Assumes an active role in the overall pharmacy-training program consisting of students, interns, residents, and professional and non-professional staff members. Conducts on-the job training and provides guidance through designated programs.
• Assumes an active role in staff development of peers and provides educational in-services to nursing, medical staff, or to other ancillary services as appropriate. 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 her/her daily duties.

Customer Services Requirements:

• Relationships with management, co-workers, patients, and the public are consistently courteous, respectful, and cooperative in nature.
• Employee will display a cooperative attitude and will effectively work together to implement the organization's mission and goals.
• Employee will ensure productivity is maintained at the established level for the program for which he/she is responsible.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 0800-1630
Telework: Ad-hoc, per agency policy discretion.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 91249-A
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:

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.

• 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:
GS13
(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.

1. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. The clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) 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. A CPS plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider who functions to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: designing, implementing, assessing, monitoring and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic and most economical medication treatments; helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams in assigned areas; performing physical assessments; and ordering laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:
a. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
b. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
c. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
d. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
e. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

Preferred Experience: Mental Health Clinical Pharmacist Provider

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: Work is mostly sedentary in nature. Work requires moderate lifting, walking, bending, stooping, standing, pushing, and pulling.

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.