Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. Open to current permanent Federal Employees, must submit an SF-50

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The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) functions at the highest level of clinical pharmacy. Under an advanced scope of practice, the CPS works independently at least 25% of the time, providing expertise and direct patient care. The CPS is responsible for the clinical and program management of pharmacy services in the Specialty Clinic practice areas, including, but not limited to Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Medicine (Cardiology, Pulmonary, Gastroenterology, Rheumatology, Nephrology, Allergy/Immunology).

Duties may include:

1. Clinical
   • Provides comprehensive medication and disease state management services and prescribing medications and treatments in accordance with their individualized scope of practice and in collaboration with healthcare professionals responsible for the Veterans' care.
   • Functions as mid-level provider to design, implement, and monitor therapeutic drug plans to achieve definitive outcomes through direct interactions with patients and providers in assigned areas.
   • Obtains comprehensive health history including but not limited to medication therapy, medical history, laboratory and diagnostic study results, and limited physical assessment.
   • Orders, performs, reviews and/or analyzes appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies necessary to monitor and support the Veteran's drug therapy as a member of the treatment team.
   • Identifies patient-specific medication issues including, but not limited to, drug interactions, adverse effects, efficacy, appropriateness, medication safety concerns and adherence problems.
   • Educates the Veteran and caregivers on disease state management and proper use of prescribed medications. Evaluates patient's ability to understand medication instructions, and provides oral and written counseling on their drug therapy.
   • Orders consults (i.e. dietician, social work) as appropriate to maximize positive drug therapy outcomes.
   • Completes pharmacy consults applying clinical knowledge in accordance with established policies and procedures. Assures that all prescriptions and actions meet eligibility criteria on a patient specific basis, and the National Formulary and Non-Formulary procedures are followed; this includes adherence to all national, VISN and local criteria for use treatment algorithms and guidelines.
   • Participates in developing criteria for use, medication use evaluations, data collection for pertinent reports, and other quality assurance activities, as required to ensure appropriate and safe drug utilization.
2. Program Management
   • Serves as a resource and expert in drug therapy knowledge and demonstrates skills in utilizing the evidence as it pertains practice area(s).
   • Serves as a primary point of contact between the Pharmacy Service and the assigned practice area(s).
   • Responsible for developing and managing all clinical pharmacy services within the assigned practice area(s).
   • Captures workload, documents clinical activities, and maintains productivity consistent with applicable performance measures and monitors.
   • Maintains an expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards pertaining to pharmacy within the assigned practice area(s).
   • Assists in the development of policies, guidelines, and protocols in practice area assuring they are consistent with current standards of practice, VHA Guidelines and Directives
3. Education and Personal Competence
   • Communicates effectively with Veterans, co-workers, hospital staff and pharmacy management.
   • Remains current with all required training, e.g. licensure, BLS, TMS, certification.
   • Maintains and improves professional competency by keeping up with information on new medications, new medication therapies, and innovations in pharmacy practices. The CPS continually applies current drug information and program techniques in their daily practices.
   • Maintains updated and current scope of practice and complies with requests from credentialing office. Completes all pertinence review by established deadlines in alignment with clinical practice evaluations.
   • Provides pharmacy related education and reference materials to medical staff, nursing staff, residents, students, and other healthcare professionals in the assigned practice area(s).

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:

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/.

(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.

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.

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

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).

Preferred Experience: Background in specialty care program management and/or PGY-2 with qualified experience and/or PGY-1 with emphasis in specialty care.

GS-13 Grade Determinations:
a) Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

(b) 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.

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. 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:
a. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
b. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
c. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
d. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
e. 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/.

Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion, involving standing or sitting for prolonged periods of time, typing, walking distances within the medical center, lifting/carrying (up to 40 pounds) of pharmaceutical supplies, and bending/stooping/stretching.

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.