Clarification from the agency

Eligible applicants: Current permanent Cincinnati VA employees of the facility only. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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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
PADR Reviews:

• Implements and applies the VA formulary, guidelines, and restrictions to all PADRs being adjudicated.
• Understands, reviews, and applies criteria for use for each requested drug as appropriate.
• Reviews, analyzes, and applies the available published medical literature as it pertains to PAD Rs and their adjudication.
• Seeks to provide patients with the best drug therapy possible while balancing drug availability and cost.
• Interfaces and communicates with providers, pharmacists, procurement and other staff, as needed, providing input and feedback before, during, and after the adjudication process for requested drugs.
• Coordinates with clinical pharmacists when reviewing, commenting on, and adjudicating CCN PADRs.
• Acts as a reference to pharmacists and providers in answering questions about the formulary status and requirements for obtaining nonformulary or restricted drugs.
• Promotes compliance with the VHA National Formulary and clinical guidelines in the Health System.
• Provides consistent oversight of prior authorization reviews allowing for equal care amongst patients seen at the facility as well as via community care.
• Performs other duties required including assisting in conducting and reporting internal audits.
• Collaborate with pharmacy procurement, VHA contracted specialty pharmacies, and VHA contracted compounding pharmacies to facilitate order placement and verify medication availability.

• Reviews all medication orders for appropriateness, drug selection, dosage, route of administration and the amount, prior to dispensing.
• Ensures all medication orders are entered into the electronic patient medical record.
• Provides medication counseling to patients.
• Selects, compounds, dispenses and fills a range of drugs including extemporaneous preparations, special formulations, ophthalmic preparations (subconjunctival and intravitreal injections), controlled substances, investigational drugs, oncolytic agents, etc.

• Performs a thorough review of all prescriptions processed, checked, and dispensed and uses clinical judgement when making recommendations.
• Fills all orders in a timely fashion; review of the patient's allergy history, drug-drug, drug-nutrient, drug-laboratory and drug-disease state interactions and assessment for clinical relevance should be performed and dealt with appropriately.
• 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:
  a) Therapeutic appropriateness of a patient's drug regimen
  b) Therapeutic duplication in the patient's drug regimen
  c) Appropriateness of the route and method of administration
  d) Degree of patient compliance with the prescribed drug regimen
• Reports adverse drug events (ADE), near misses, and medication errors in alignment with VA ADERS, JPSR, and any other pertinent reporting programs.

• Reviews all medication orders for appropriateness, drug selection, dosage, route of administration and the amount, prior to dispensing.
• Ensures all medication orders are entered into the electronic patient medical record.
• Provides medication counseling to patients.
• Reviews medication profiles and monitors for compliance or potential abuse; problems encountered shall be resolved.
• Selects, compounds, dispenses and fills a range of drugs including extemporaneous preparations, special formulations, ophthalmic preparations (subconjunctival and intravitreal injections), controlled substances, investigational drugs, oncolytic agents, etc.

• Performs a thorough review of all prescriptions processed, checked, and dispensed and uses clinical judgement when making recommendations.
• Fills all orders in a timely fashion; review of the patient's allergy history, drug-drug, drug-nutrient, drug-laboratory and drug-disease state interactions and assessment for clinical relevance should be performed and dealt with appropriately.

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 identification 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

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.
• 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).
• 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.
• Failure to Obtain License. In all cases, pharmacists must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure starting from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the unlicensed pharmacist with the written requirement to obtain licensure, the date by which the license must be acquired, and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. Failure to become licensed within 2 years from date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0660 Pharmacist series and may result in termination of employment.
• English Language Proficiency. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).

• Assignment. A pharmacist in this assignment 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 assigned to this position must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs):
• 1. Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice.
• 2. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff.
• 3. Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security.
• 4. Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

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.