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Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (Population Health)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted today · Apply by 08/06/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 6, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$139,115 - $180,852 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Excepted Service
Represented by a union
Yes
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBSV-13022074-26-SN
Control number
878491300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. Applicants will be referred in the following order: First-Veterans Preference Eligibles Second- Other external qualified applicants.

Videos

Duties

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VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

FUNCTIONS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) assigned to Population Health provides comprehensive medication management (CMM), advanced pharmacotherapy services, population health interventions, clinical quality improvement support, and medication optimization services under an approved Scope of Practice.

The incumbent functions as an independent prescribing provider responsible for the longitudinal management of Veterans with acute and chronic disease states through direct patient care, population health initiatives, targeted medication optimization activities, and interdisciplinary collaboration, including direct clinical support of the facility anticoagulation program. The CPS is accountable for clinical outcomes within an assigned patient panel and contributes directly to Veteran access, quality, medication safety, population health performance, and organizational priorities.

The CPS practices as an integral member of the interdisciplinary healthcare team and is most effective when managing a defined panel of patients while simultaneously supporting facility-wide quality improvement and population health initiatives. Patients may directly engage the CPS for medication-related care, chronic disease management, preventative care interventions, care gap closure, and follow-up.

The incumbent is responsible for initiating, modifying, monitoring, and discontinuing medication therapy; ordering and interpreting laboratory and diagnostic tests; coordinating care across services; and implementing evidence-based interventions to optimize therapeutic outcomes.

The CPS functions with a high level of autonomy and clinical judgment consistent with advanced pharmacy practice standards, utilizing direct scheduling authority, registries, dashboards, and population health tools to improve Veteran access, continuity of care, and medication safety.

The role includes responsibility for improving clinical performance metrics, reducing medication-related risk, and advancing pharmacy-led population health initiatives through direct patient care, virtual care modalities, direct scheduling pathways, and team-based care coordination.

The incumbent collaborates closely with the Associate Chief of Pharmacy (Clinical Services), Pharmacy Informatics Program Manager, clinical pharmacy practitioners, clinical pharmacy technicians, providers, nurses, academic detailing personnel, VISN stakeholders, data analysts, informaticists, and interdisciplinary partners to support facility, VISN, and national priorities.

The incumbent serves as a clinical resource and subject matter expert for pharmacotherapy, medication optimization, and pharmacy-led population health services.

The incumbent is organizationally aligned under Pharmacy Service to support clinical operations, population health, and Veteran care delivery.

Initiates, modifies, monitors, and discontinues medication therapy to achieve evidence-based therapeutic goals.

Manages Veterans with acute and chronic disease states including diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular disease, obesity, chronic kidney disease, tobacco dependence, anticoagulation, and other authorized conditions.

Performs comprehensive medication reviews to optimize efficacy, safety, adherence, and cost-effectiveness.

Identifies, resolves, and documents medication-related problems.

Orders and interprets laboratory and diagnostic tests necessary for medication management.

Monitors therapeutic outcomes and modifies treatment plans based on clinical response.

Provides patient-specific therapeutic drug monitoring.

Evaluates medication appropriateness, contraindications, interactions, adherence barriers, and treatment effectiveness.

Maintains accountability for assigned patient panel outcomes, access, continuity, and quality.

Documents patient care activities in the electronic health record.

Utilizes evidence-based guidelines and best practices to guide treatment decisions.

Maintains productivity and utilization expectations established by Pharmacy Service.

Provides care through face-to-face, telephone, video, virtual, and other approved modalities.

Utilizes direct scheduling authority as a core access and population health strategy, enabling timely intervention, proactive outreach, care gap closure, and longitudinal chronic disease management.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #:00000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized.
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 Authorized

Requirements

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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.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • 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).
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov

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 (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.
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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment in paragraph 2, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - GS-13
Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

Assignments. Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

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.

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: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:
ASHP-accredited PGY1 and PGY2 in Ambulatory Care or at least three years of clinical experience with a scope of practice
Board certification through Board of Pharmacy Specialties (i.e., BCPS, BCACP)
Experience with quality improvement, facilitation of health care initiatives, and process/procedure development related to pharmacy services.

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

Agency contact information

Scott Newburn
Phone
208-422-1000 X7576
Email
scott.newburn@va.gov
Address
White City VA Medical Center
8495 Crater Lake Highway
White City, OR 97503
US

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