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 job is open to current permanent VA Nationwide employees, Federal employees of other Agencies, VHA HPTs, and U.S. Citizens

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This position is located in the Pharmacy Service at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, TX.

The duties of the Pharmacist (Facility Program Manager), include but are not limited to:
1.Serves as a liaison representing the Pharmacy Service in safe medication practice issues.
2. Assists the Chief, Pharmacy Service in developing medication safety goals and objectives.
3. Assists the Chief, Pharmacy Service in development, approval, and implementation of policies and procedures that support medication safety.
4. Coordinates and providers interdepartmental and intradepartmental medication safety activities and trainings.
5. Ensures all staff is knowledgeable concerning medical center and pharmacy service policies and procedures related to medication safety.
6. Ensures parenteral solutions, medication concentrations, doses and administration items are standardized whenever possible.
7. Minimizes the potential for errors associated with medication products due to labeling, packaging, or medication names that look or sound alike.
8. Ensures the safety and security of product changes and storage throughout the institution.
9. Manages data collection, analysis, and review of medication safety events and practices including reporting of adverse events in Joint Point Safety Reporting (JPSR) and adverse drug reactions in VA ADERS and VistA ADR tracking system.
10. Reviews and assesses compliance with VHA Directives/Handbooks, USP, FDA, DEA, OIG, and T JC standards and assists with the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure compliance.
11. Works with Patient Safety to analyze, categorize and triage incoming JPSR reports to the facility.
12. Serves as the pharmacy point of contact for pharmacy medication related JPSR event reports. Investigates, reports to pharmacy leadership, and uploads reviews into the JPSR system.
13. Works with the National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS), the Center for Medication Safety (VA Med SAFE), ISMP, and FDA to disseminate medication-related patient safety issues to appropriate clinical staff and committees and collects and analyzes MEDVAMC data as necessary.
14. Works closely with pharmacy management, patient safety, and clinical leadership to resolve medication safety issues and ensures that processes for prescribing, dispensing, and monitoring medication therapy minimize the potential for adverse medication events.
15. Works with Patient Safety and Quality Management, when indicated, to represent the pharmacy department RCA and HFEMA events.
16. Actively reviews updated Institute of Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) alerts, disseminates information to relevant staff, and develops action plans to address identified issues.
17. Actively participates in ISMP reviews with the healthcare system and proactively completes self - assessments and gap analyses to identify areas for performance and practice improvement.
18. Coordinates internal pharmacy quality management tracers and education on medication safety and other regulatory topics.
19. Actively reviews updated ISMP alerts, disseminates information to relevant staff, and develops action plans to address identified issues.
20. Works with facility leadership and appropriate educators to teach and train individuals on core aspects of medication safety practices.
21. Serves as the Co-Chair or Secretary of the Medication Safety Subcommittee and USP 797/800 Sterile Compounding Subcommittee, which aligns under the Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee:

• Prepares agenda and ensures accurate minutes are taken.
• Manages and maintains associated databases.
• Maintains the charter for the subcommittee and work with the multidisciplinary colleagues to complete the duties assigned to committee.
• Prepares and presents quarterly progress reports to Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee
• Prepares and presents reports as indicated to the Quality Management and Patient Safety

Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30 pm, Monday-Friday, subject to change based on the needs of the facility.
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 01283-F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Available

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.
• 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. V
  • 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, or 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 as, 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:
Facility Program Manager GS-13

(1) Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

• Examples of GS-12 experience: 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.

(2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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:
Demonstrated experience in quality improvement (QI), patient safety, or medication safety projects
Familiarity with key regulatory requirements (e.g., The Joint Commission, CMS, ISMP guidelines) and experience ensuring compliance with relevant standards.
Proficiency in analyzing medication use data, identifying trends, and preparing reports for committees or leadership.
Proven ability to manage projects, lead multidisciplinary teams, and drive change across departments.
Strong communication skills, including experience presenting to diverse audiences and educating staff on medication safety practices

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: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

How you will be evaluated

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

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

• Current permanent VA employees of the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
• Current permanent Veterans Healthcare Administration employees
• Current Permanent Federal employees of other agencies
• VHA HPTs
• All other US Citizens

Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred based on the Veterans' Preference

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.