Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees at this facility and past, current and upcoming participants of the VA Health Professions Training (HPT) Graduates. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Major duties include, but are not limited to:

Drug Dispensing

• Enters, processes, and/or edits new prescription orders from providers accurately
• Processes refills, partials, renewal prescription requests timely
• Accurately dispenses prescriptions, medication orders, and supplies.
• Fills prescriptions by selecting the correct drug and dosage form, reducing the drug from bulk to the quantity prescribed, compounding when necessary, then packaging and labeling the drug in an appropriate manner.
• Exercises care in the dispensing of drugs, especially controlled substances, investigational and cytotoxic drugs, to assure that legal and agency regulations and instructions are followed, that proper and complete recordkeeping is maintained, and that the drug storage areas are stocked, safe, and secure.
• Reviews the patient medication profile prior to dispensing drugs and medications.
• Responsible for special formulations, and for extemporaneous compounding of routine and special medications requiring complex compounding procedures.
• Checks technician-prepared orders when necessary.

• Performs patient medication profile reviews upon entering orders and utilizes knowledge of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacotherapeutics to evaluate orders for appropriateness.
• Ensures appropriate laboratory monitoring of drug therapy and provides pharmacokinetic services.
• Utilizes available resources including laboratory and other diagnostic data to communicate questionable therapy, non- formulary therapy or therapy outside of established criteria to prescribers and offers reasonable alternatives, responding to requests in a timely manner.
• Provides medication and disease state management information and participates in other educational endeavors including patient and family education and medical/nursing staff education.
• Participates in Drug Utilization Evaluations and actively documents and reports Adverse Drug Events in addition to medication errors.
• Renews expired chronic medications to stable patients with future primary care appointments. Follows applicable policy and procedures when renewing prescriptions.

• Knowledgeable of, adheres to and applies established policies and procedures during the performance of duties.
• Responsible for supervising the organization of workflow and finished products prepared by Pharmacy Technicians.
• Provides administrative consultations to patients and other CTVHCS employees concerning pharmacy policies, and regulations to resolve problems and or concerns in a caring, professional manner.
• Recognizes that communication is vital for the effective and efficient operation of the pharmacy and is responsible for communicating problems and concerns incurred on tour of duty daily through use of electronic mail to help solve problems within processes for continuous quality improvement.
• Responsible for promoting a culture of safety and will fully cooperate in efforts to improve patient safety and eradicate potential events including the reporting of events resulting in actual or potential injury to a patient.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the reporting procedures involving safety issues relating to patients.
• Supports training of Doctor of Pharmacy candidates, VALOR interns, pharmacy residents, pharmacy technician students, or other pharmacy trainees.

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

Health Professional Trainee's: HPTs who have successfully completed or are expected to successfully complete an affiliate sponsored or VA Sponsored training program may be considered based on completing the requirements listed below by the date of appointment. Please ensure you provide all supporting documentation regarding your training program and expected completion.

***HPTs who are on track to graduate/complete the requirements should respond as if they have met the requirements. Provide details in the narrative sections of the assessment.

Basic Requirements:

Citizenship.
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.)

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.(1) Exception. Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 2 years for a pharmacist that provides care under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. For grade levels above the GS-11, the candidate must be licensed.(2) 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.

Physical Requirements.
See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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

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:

GS-11 Pharmacist

• Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.

• Experience or Education. In addition to the basic requirements, candidate must have one (1) year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) OR have completed an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program. Examples of experience include 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.

• >3 years outpatient pharmacy experience
• Knowledge and experience with outpatient pharmacy operations
• Experience with e-prescription processing
• Experience completing prior authorization requests
• Knowledge of VA formulary

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.