Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. The area of consideration is limited to current permanent facility employees of the Jonathan M. Wainwright VAMC and associated clinics.

Videos

Functions

• Triages all Pharmacy communication with internal and external customers by phone, email, Microsoft Teams messaging, and Message Pool messages in PowerChart; refers all questions requiring clinical judgement to the pharmacist.
• Completes all Cerner PowerChart Messages within the Technician scope.
• Processes incoming faxed prescription by naming and confirming Community Care authorization of care to include expiration date of service.
• Processes Community Care prescriptions by confirming a valid Community Care authorization exists. Sends notice letters to the writing provider and the patient when no valid authorization is available. Sends notice letter to prescriber and patient when a PADR has been denied.
• Downloads USPS & UPS tracking to the Pharmacy W drive daily for future tracking capability by pharmacy & call center staff.
• Assists patients requesting refills and prescription renewals by alerting provider team when the prescription is out of refills or is expired and requires renewal.
• Provides patient education on Pharmacy topics such as the refill and renewal process and prescription tracking information; relays clinical judgement questions to the pharmacist.
• Provides patient with Rx tracking information from USPS and UPS, when requested.
• Processes pharmacy returned mail by contacting patient and confirming or updating patients mailing address in Cerner and ScriptPro. Forwards patient prescriptions to a pharmacist for cancel fill action in patients Cerner profile when appropriate.
• Designated workstations will be kept clean, stocked and organized.
• May be required to travel to CBOC/PTOC clinic locations for Omnicell restocking and medication outdate checks, as needed.
• Assists in training for lower graded technicians.
• Performs all duties of lower graded technician functions, as needed.
• Provide coverage to next higher-grade technician, as needed for short staffing situations.

Quality and Regulatory Duties

• Assists in preparation of national, local, and special accreditations of pharmacy service. (Joint Commission, Inspector General, Controlled Substance Inspections, Drug Enforcement Agency) This includes documentation record updates, development of specific training and preparation of staff and compliance of policy and procedures.
• Assists in preparation of national, local, and special accreditations of pharmacy service. (Joint Commission, Inspector General, Controlled Substance Inspections, Drug Enforcement Agency) This includes documentation record updates, development of specific training and preparation of staff and compliance of policy and procedures.
• Proactively evaluates and analyzes data for self-driven (independent) performance improvement projects, workload analysis and statistical reports.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Work Schedule: 8AM - 4:30PM, Monday - Friday
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 00000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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

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.
• English Language Proficiency. Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Education or Experience.
  • None required.
  • For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level.
• 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).
  • OR
  • National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

Grade Determinations:
Pharmacy Technician, GS-07.

Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

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

• PTCB as a CPhT.
• OR
• NHA as a ExCPT.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a) Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.
(b) Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.
(c) Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.
(d) Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.
(e) Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.
(f) Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.

Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Pharmacy technicians at this level are nationally certified and can work autonomously using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties. These pharmacy technicians mentor and train lower graded pharmacy technicians in the practice setting. They assist advanced/ specialized pharmacy technicians and participate in performance improvement initiatives. At this level, pharmacy technicians use independent judgement to perform the full range of duties in the pharmacy. They also function as staff pharmacy technicians in various locations of the pharmacy, including pharmacy contact centers and other non-traditional pharmacy locations, with minimal oversight.

Preferred experience: Knowledge or training with, Cerner EHRM, ScriptPro, Omnicell medication cabinets, and TCG-RX pre-packing equipment.

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-7.

Physical Requirements: There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019, updated on 4/17/2026.

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.