Clarification from the agency

First consideration will be given to current permanent employees at the Aleda E. Lutz Medical Center and affiliated Community Based Outpatient Clinics. 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:

• Clinical - Direct Patient Care Activities:
  • Functions as an advanced practice provider for CMM services to achieve defined outcomes through direct interactions with patients and providers in assigned care area(s).
  • Functions as part of the interdisciplinary team to provide CMM for pain management which may include, but is not limited to:
    • Prescribes, monitors and adjusts medications related to pain management
    • Obtains pertinent medical history and obtains accurate pain medication related history from patient and via chart review
    • Orders, monitors, and interprets toxicology screens and other needed labs; implements follow-up on treatment actions as supported by lab interpretations
    • Uses available population health tools to identify and address risk mitigation needs focused on safe pain care
  • Determines if a referral to a physician is necessary when disease progression occurs, or adverse drug events require a higher level of treatment intervention
  • Follows up via face-to-face, telehealth, eConsult, telephone, secure messaging and other modalities to provide patient care
• Clinical - Indirect Patient Care Activities:
  • Reviews patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness, drug selection, dosing, contraindications, side effects, potential drug interactions, and therapeutic outcomes as required. Communicates findings with prescribers and provides appropriate recommendations for alternatives to current treatment plans as needed
  • Provides input and recommendations as the pain medication expert on the interdisciplinary pain management team during routine patient care planning or targeted complex or high-risk reviews
  • Documents clinical interventions and patient care encounters in the electronic health record in a timely and professional manner as appropriate.
• Educational:
  • Provides formal and informal education and in-services to pharmacy, medical, nursing and other staff as requested.
  • Serves as a subject matter expert for pain management for assigned committees, workgroups or interdisciplinary teams.
  • Provides education to patients, their families and caregivers about medications, patient responsibilities, and information on health promotion.
  • Participates in self-development activities to maintain and strengthen professional competence in pain management
• Program Management and Administration:
  • Participates in the appropriate, effective and safe use of pharmaceuticals by contributing to criteria development, data collection, quality assurance and drug use evaluation and other quality improvement activities for core practice area(s) and pain management.
  • Serves as the pharmacist subject matter expert on assigned pain management related committees and subcommittees.
  • Supports and promotes compliance with established drug therapy policies, formulary management and criteria or prior authorization requirements that have been approved by national, VISN, or local pharmacy benefits management (PBM) and focuses on quality patient care in a cost-effective manner.
  • Participates and facilitates departmental and organizational compliance with The Joint Commission (TJC), Office of General Counsel (OIG), and other applicable regulatory and accreditation regulations and guidelines regarding patient safety and care.
• Research: (when applicable):
  • Participates in design and/or completion of research studies and/or quality improvement projects involving drug therapy, clinical pharmacy functions, or improvements in patient care.
  • Directs and/or participates in the preparation of articles for publication.

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.

• 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

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: (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 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).
• 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.

• Experience: In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. The clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) functions at the highest level of clinical practice, works independently under their scope of practice as defined by the individual medical center to directly care for patients. A CPS plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider who functions to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: designing, implementing, assessing, monitoring and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic and most economical medication treatments; helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams in assigned areas; performing physical assessments; and ordering laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  • Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
  • Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
  • Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
  • Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
  • 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.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.
3. All other applicants.

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.