Clarification from the agency

All US Citizens. First area of consideration will be given to current, permanent, John J Pershing VA employees. Current, permanent VA employees must submit their most recent, NON-AWARD SF-50 to be considered. IT IS HIGHLY SUGGESTED THAT YOU CLEARLY DOCUMENT THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES LISTED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT

Videos

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

Duties Include:

• Demonstrates competence in differentiating individual patient pharmaceutical care needs based on patient age from adult (18-64) through geriatric (65+).
• Demonstrates competence in treatment of comprehensive medication management for women Veterans.
• Initiates and executes evidence-based pharmacotherapeutic regimens and monitoring plans.
• Performs preconception medication reviews and provides care for pregnant women.
• Accountable for medication reconciliation in accordance with national and facility guidelines.
• Assist with facility's compliance with teratogenic medication reviews.
• Orders, performs and interprets the physical measurements necessary to monitor, support and modify the patient's medication therapy.
• Orders, reviews and interprets appropriate laboratory tests and other studies necessary to monitor, support and modify the patient's medication therapy.
• Effectively monitors and assesses patient outcomes to drug therapy, managing ongoing therapy or transition to other levels of treatment.
• Monitors for and reports drug errors, adverse drug reactions, allergies and patient compliance issues per facility procedures.
• Performs prospective panel reviews and actively participates in population management.
• Serves as a resource within the team for formulary management issues, implementation of VHA criteria for use.
• Completes all documentation in a professional and concise manner to accurately reflect care plans allowing for safe and efficient care throughout the care continuum.
• Contributes pharmaceutical guidance with development and review of evidence-based treatment protocols, criteria for use and new medication requests.
• Develops an efficient and thorough approach to retrieving, analyzing and providing timely oral and written professional responses to the health care team.
• Seeks out and recognizes best practices, understands how and applies these concepts to makes effective decisions that facilitate change and produce positive outcomes.
• Serves as a mentor in the development and conduction of resident research projects including development of research questions, methodology, application to IRB and assisting with presentation and manuscript.
• Designs, conducts, and publishes original research in reference journals or as abstracts in scientific meetings in areas of expertise, independence or as a contributing member of a research team.
• Collaborates with other clinical researchers (pharmacy, medical, non-medical).
• Advises the Investigational Drug Services, Pharmacist on any service line related drugs studies. Serves as an investigator as appropriate.
• Designs and coordinates drug utilization evaluations and the clinic's quality assurance program. This includes the collection and compilation of data and the preparation of reports to be provided to the appropriate committees

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

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:

• English Language Proficiency. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).

• Citizen of the United States. (Noncitizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.)

• 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 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).

• 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.

GS-13 Experience Requirement: In addition to the basic requirements, you must possess the following:

One (1) year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12)
AND
Demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs):

1. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
2. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
3. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
4. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
5. Advanced 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.