Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Works collaboratively with VISN programs, services, and interdisciplinary coordinated care team members to provide access to care and meet the needs of Veterans, their family members, and/or legal representatives via various available contact modalities, including but not limited to telephone calls, secure messaging, chat, text messaging, and video regarding a broad range of topics, including medication refills/renewals, basic billing inquiries, and procedural pharmacy activities.
• Routinely reviews computer medication profiles for therapeutic duplication, prescription non-compliance, and allergies/drug reactions. Transfers identified patients to a pharmacist or supervisor for further evaluation, if needed.
• Processes and submits patient requests for new prescription orders and renewals (including controlled substances) into the computer accurately, thoroughly, and in a timely manner. Uses approved Pharmacy Service protocols when appropriate to satisfy patient medication requests.
• Consistently documents patient contact and resolution in VISN Clinical Contact Center software and/or the Electronic Health Record (EHR) to include, but not limited to, what was requested, what action was taken, and any other information that may be pertinent during future research.
• Assists in the documentation of medication variances.
• Assists in training lower-graded technicians and technician students.
• Assists in the completion of workload for other VISN Clinical Contact Center Pharmacy Services in the event of natural disasters, low staffing, or other contingency needs.
• Stays abreast of and consistently follows regulations, policies, and directives to ensure safe medication use and distribution.
• Performs all duties of lower-graded technicians, if required.
• Actively and diligently treats all Veterans with respect and utmost dignity. Seeks to solve Veterans' concerns at first contact. When required, refers to other VA resources to assist in the resolution process. Always resolves all Veteran issues in a timely and caring manner with emphasis on providing first-contact resolution.
• Seeks assistance from the designated Lead Technician, a pharmacist, or a supervisor when responding to unusual questions or when reasonable attempts to satisfy a caller have been unsuccessful.
• Follows applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to computerized files. Ensures Electronic Health Record (EHR) access to all sites/services is maintained.
• Maintains National Pharmacy Technician Certification.
• Participates in continuous daily improvement and VISN CCC initiatives.
• Completes additional duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, including select holidays. Tours may be 8:00AM-4:30PM, 9:00AM-5:30PM and 10:30AM-7:00PM CST. Work schedule will be during interview.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Remote: This position is authorized to work remotely. However, this authorization is contingent on yearly approval from the Secretary of the VA. If approval is denied, the candidate will be required to work from a VA owned or leased space.
Functional Statement #: 99329-S

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.
• 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

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 or Experience: None Required

Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:

• Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).
• National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

English Language Proficiency: Pharmacy technicians appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part.

Grandfathering Provision: 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).

Pharmacy Technician, GS-07 Grade Determination:
Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower (GS-06) grade level. Equivalent experience includes, but is not limited to: filling orders, dispensing/delivering medications using automated systems and providing technical customer service to Veterans related to prescription needs, delivering of medications to floors/patients, filling medications for the pharmacist to review, checking for expired medications, answering phones with appropriate disposition, preparing sterile products (when applicable) and assisting with basic inventory management such as putting up stock and identifying when medications need to be ordered.

AND

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In Addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.
2. Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.
3. Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.
4. Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.
5. Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.
6. Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary and requires at least 8 hours of screen time. You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

How you will be evaluated

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

Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the VISN 23 Clinical Contact Center.
2. All other VA employees.

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.