Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees. 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., including current and former VHA Health Professional Trainees (HPT's). 3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies. 4. All other Applicants All other applicant will be referred in Veterans' Preference Order

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Major duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Clinical Services
  • Utilizes a patient-centered approach to improve patient health outcomes through optimizing medication use in collaboration with the patient and other health care providers.
  • Collaborates prospectively, with acute care providers to develop, implement, and maintain systems that promote desirable clinical outcomes of acute and chronic disease states through the use of safe, evidence-based, and cost-effective drug therapies.
  • Provides prospective consultation to physicians, nurses, and other health care providers on appropriate drug therapy.
  • Actively participates in multidisciplinary team rounds.
  • Assess and prioritizes the patient's active medical conditions, considering clinical and patient goals of therapy. Assesses the indication, effectiveness, safety, and adherence of each mediation the patient is taking. Makes appropriate adjustments to medication therapy.
  • Utilizes motivational interview skills with patient, family, caregiver, and other healthcare professionals to collect patient-specific data, conduct medication history, and identify additional data needed for medication review assessment and medication reconciliation.
  • Documents pharmaceutical care plan and interventions performed in Electronic Health Record and/or facility specific programs.
  • Orders, reviews and analyzes appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies necessary to monitor and support the patient's drug therapy. Follows-up with patients on lab or test results to monitor, evaluate, and adjust medication therapy.
  • Monitors serum levels for patients receiving drugs with narrow therapeutic indices and evaluates and adjusts medication therapy using pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles.
  • Ensures appropriate care coordination during transitions of care within the inpatient setting (changes in levels of care, shift changes, etc.) as well as throughout the discharge process, as indicated.
  • Assists in medical emergencies and high-risk scenarios, when applicable. The Acute Care CPS ensures appropriate selection of medications, dosages, and administration, and provides recommendation on routes and dosages for alternatives medications if warranted.
  • Identifies, reports, and monitors Adverse Drug Events (ADRs), allergies, and patient compliance issues.
  • Orders, performs, and interprets the physical measurements necessary to monitor, support, or modify the patient's medication therapy.
  • Maintains working knowledge of applicable medication Criteria for Use (CFU). Applies knowledge to direct appropriate medication therapy and adjudicate non-formulary and formulary with prior authorization (PADR) medication requests.
• Program Management
  • Responsible for coordination and supervision of all pharmacotherapy management activities as assigned. This includes management of a clinical practice within area of expertise including scheduling, reviewing consults, finishing encounters to meet timeliness standards, providing patient care, and assuring coverage of clinical services during one's absence. Pharmacy Service Policy and Procedures, VA Regulation and state and federal Pharmacy laws will serve as operational guidance.
  • Knows and follows administrative requirements of the hospital and those specific to the Pharmacy Formulary, investigational drugs, and general distributive functions.
  • Interfaces with other health care providers and administrators to ensure compliance with established pharmacy and medical center policies and procedures.
  • Serves as a consultant and active participant in drug usage evaluation reviews. Assists in the development of proposals for improved and/or new clinical pharmacy services.
  • 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) when needed.
  • Are actively involved in facility-wide committees, work groups, and other interdisciplinary groups of the like as required by the pharmacy department.
  • Participates in the Pharmacy Professional Practice Evaluation Program and/or Peer Review Program.
• Distribution
  • Responsible for participating in the entire medication use process to include ensuring the safe, appropriate, and timely distribution of medication.
  • Responsible for following service line and other regulatory policies regarding to medication labeling, inventory management, formulary management, PBM initiatives, equipment maintenance, and timeliness of service.

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 examination.
• 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 Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
• Education:
  • 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.)
  • 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.
  • NOTE: Individuals who have or have had multiple licenses and had any such license revoked for professional misconduct, professional incompetence or substandard care, or who surrendered such license after receiving written notice of potential termination of such license by the State for professional misconduct, professional incompetence, or substandard care, are not eligible for appointment to the position unless such revoked or surrendered license is fully restored (38 U.S.C. § 7402(f)). Effective November 30, 1999, this is a requirement for employment. This requirement does not apply to licensed pharmacists on VA rolls as of that date, provided they maintain continuous appointment and are not disqualified for employment by any subsequent revocations or voluntary surrenders of State license, registration or certification.

• Experience: In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
  • GS-12 level experience includes the following
    • Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice.
    • Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff.
    • Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security.
    • Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate all of 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.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: 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.

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.

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees.

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., including current and former VHA Health Professional Trainees (HPT's).
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies.
4. All other Applicants

All other applicant will be referred in Veterans' Preference Order

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.