Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees and all US Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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The ACOS-E is the designated VAMC employee who has oversight responsibility for all health professions training at the VAMC.

Administrative Duties 25%

• Responsible for establishing, maintaining, and evaluating the quality of health professions training programs and the quality of care delivered by trainees at the VA facility.
• Provides direction and oversight of the Health Professions Education (HPE) service and education support for a full spectrum of paid and without compensation (WOC) HPTs and others associated with a complex healthcare system, which includes employees, upper-level facility management, affiliate schools, and HPTs.
• Provides policy development, analysis, decision making, and implementation activities affecting the VA health care system.
• Interacts with affiliated institutions as appropriate on matters pertaining to HPT assignment and curricula and on evaluation of the VA medical facility as a training site.
• Acts as a consultant to other VA medical facility staff on educational matters and interpreting policies according to VA requirements; provides comprehensive support to residency and training program and site directors.
• Works closely with OAA to expand programs, collect and report data, and obtain guidance for unusual circumstances.
• Ensures that all VA-sponsored programs maintain accreditation, collaborating with VA program director(s) on reporting, site visits, and making timely payments to match organizations and/or certifying bodies.

• Maintains an active clinical pharmacy practice through provision of patient care during new patient and/or follow-up visits.
• Provides and coordinates medication management services for patients in designated clinic(s) according to broad scope of practice focused on chronic disease state management. This shall include:
  • Initiating, discontinuing, and/or changing medications through the electronic medical record.
  • Ordering labs and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy.
  • Managing care across the continuum of the health care system.
  • Referring patients to appropriate health care providers.
  • Performing physical assessments as needed
  • Performing patient triage functions as needed.
• Documents all encounters in the patient's clinical record.
• Demonstrates competence in differentiating individual patient pharmaceutical care needs based on patient age from adult (18-64) through geriatric (65+).
• Renews and orders medications per Scope of Practice with semi-annual clinical care review.
• Evaluates orders for appropriateness and drug interactions, allergies and adverse reactions, and duplicate therapy.
• Provides appropriate patient consultation for all new prescriptions. Inquires about side effects and patient questions for renewed prescriptions.

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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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.

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

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.

Grade Determinations:

Associate Service Chief, GS-14
Experience: In addition to the GS-13 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Associate Service Chief function include being responsible for coordinating multiple programs in pharmacy service in a medical facility. Serves as the Acting Service Chief in the absence of the Service Chief. Develops and maintains a system of internal reviews that ensure service programs operate at a satisfactory level of performance and in compliance with regulatory and accrediting bodies. Responsible for pharmacy utilization of resources and budget. Makes selections, assigns personnel, and serves as a mentor to help employees develop their full potential. (NOTE: Associate Service Chief/ Associate CMOP Director positions should be graded one grade below the grade of the Chief of Pharmacy Service or CMOP Director.)

Preferred Experience:1. Experience as a program director for internal medicine, family practice, pharmacy, or psychiatry residency programs.2. Experience with administration of graduate and/or undergraduate training programs.3. At least 2 years of clinical experience in the field of practice.4. Experience with teaching and educating of health professional trainees.

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-14. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-14.

Physical Requirements: Work is performed in a variety of clinical settings including outpatient mental health clinics, inpatient mental health units, residential treatment environments, and other patient care areas. These areas may involve regular exposure to individuals experiencing acute psychiatric symptoms, behavioral dysregulation, or emotional distress. The incumbent must be able to tolerate periods of moderate stress associated with clinical responsibilities and patient interactions. The work requires sitting for extended periods while conducting interviews, assessments, documentation, and telehealth sessions and also standing, walking, or moving throughout clinical units for consultations, team meetings, and patient care activities.
Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior (PMDB), levels one and two are required.

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 referred based on Veterans' Preference.

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.