Clarification from the agency

This is a PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT and is open to Federal employees from agencies other than Department of VA and All US Citizens. Federal employees from agencies other than the Department of VA and U.S. Citizens applicants will be referred on separate certificates. If you are a current permanent employee of the Iowa City VA HCS or current VA Nationwide employee, you should apply under internal announcement number CBSY-13050394-26-MI

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The Outpatient Pharmacy Technician will be assigned on a rotation basis to various positions, including pharmacy call center, outpatient pharmacy inventory management, non-sterile compounding, controlled substance management, as well as medication preparation and shipping. The technician must have extensive knowledge of pharmacy policies and procedures and the use of specialized equipment.

FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES:

Customer Service
1) Treat patients, team members, other facility employees and visitors with dignity and respect.
2) Respond to the needs of the Veteran and staff in a courteous and timely manner.
3) Demonstrate appropriate and proactive interpersonal skills to achieve the goals of the service.
4) Act as a team member and always support the team's efforts.
5) Demonstrate an ability to work under a variety of circumstances to maximize group productivity and quality of services provided.

Pharmacy Operations
1) Maintain competence in all operational aspects of pharmacy service including specialty equipment and materials, automation, distribution, labeling, packaging, documentation, controlled substance accountability, procurement, and inventory management.
2) Operates and maintains complicated pharmacy equipment including robotic automation (ScriptPro). Ability to troubleshoot in the event of equipment or associated software malfunction, including the ability to request service assistance from VA entities or the equipment vendor.
3) Reads and interprets prescriptions for technical accuracy, completes prescription filling process including labeling and batching prescriptions utilizing robotic automation (ScriptPro) when applicable. For those medications and/or supplies unavailable for fill by robotic automation (ScriptPro), technician manually obtains correct medication or material in the proper strength and dosage form, manually counts, pours, and/or measures correct amount of medication, and manually affixes proper label, records required data in robotic automation (ScriptPro) database or on Pharmacy's copy of prescription/order hardcopy when required. Presents completed prescriptions to pharmacist for final verification prior to dispensing.

Pharmacy call center responsibilities
1) Will triage phone calls. Phone will be appropriately routed to pharmacists, pharmacy management, and members of medical team, or other areas of the medical center.
2) Assists patients with tele-pharmacy applications including patient orientation to the application. Provide patient education on pharmacy topics such as the requesting refill process, drug information sheets, and relaying judgmental questions to the pharmacist.
3) Process refill requests from a variety of avenues including refill slips dropped onsite, refill slips given over the phone, etc.
4) When appropriate, will forward refill and renewal requests to the medical care team on behalf of the Veteran.
5) Will assist veterans by researching the status of prescriptions, including package tracking, etc.

Education
1) Demonstrate skill at using both written and verbal communication techniques in teaching others.
2) Assist in new employee orientation, competency assessments, and mentoring as required.

Quality Assurance
1) Conduct monthly medication storage area inspections in inpatient wards and outpatient areas for audit purposes. Completes thorough inspections, documents findings, and shares findings with pharmacy management.
2) Maintain a thorough understanding of VA, USP, Joint Commission and other standards for drug handling and storage and monitor in all areas, taking action to maintain security and integrity of all medications.

Program Management
1) Serve on department or medical center committees as requested.
2) Adhere to all medical center and department policies and procedures.
3) Manage information security within areas of responsibility to assure that computer system security and confidentiality of sensitive information is maintained, and that employee access to sensitive information is limited only to that which the employee requires to perform their duties. Report and address violations of information security.
4) Maintain the security of pharmaceuticals according to local policies and federal and state regulations

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday through Friday, 08:30am - 5:00pm
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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

All requirements must be met at the time of the announcement closing.

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 or Experience.
  • None required.
  • For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level.
• Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
  • Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR
  • National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
• Grandfathering Provision. Pharmacy technicians employed in VHA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
  • Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
  • Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
  • Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
  • Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
  • Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• English Language Proficiency. Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

• Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-06) and demonstrate the KSAs below.
• Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
  • PTCB as a CPhT. OR
  • NHA as a ExCPT.

• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for ALL GS-07 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:
  • Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.
  • Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.
  • Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.
  • Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.
  • Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.
  • Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.
• Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Pharmacy technicians at this level are nationally certified and can work autonomously using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties. These pharmacy technicians mentor and train lower graded pharmacy technicians in the practice setting. They assist advanced/specialized pharmacy technicians and participate in performance improvement initiatives. At this level, pharmacy technicians use independent judgement to perform the full range of duties in the pharmacy. They also function as staff pharmacy technicians in various locations of the pharmacy, including pharmacy contact centers and other non-traditional pharmacy locations, with minimal oversight.

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.