Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens. 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 HPT's. 3. All other applicants.

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

• Inpatient Pharmacy Activities
  • Accurately interprets, fills, and prepares prescription stock utilizing automated replenishment reports.
  • For unit-dose medications, conducts the final review of medications prepared by other technicians prior to dispensing to inpatient areas , and independently fills unit-dose carts without secondary review as appropriate.
  • Maintains, verifies, stocks, and replaces outdated medications in patient care areas and automated dispensing machines.
  • Monitors medication inventory needs in patient care areas and communicates requirements to appropriate pharmacy personnel. .
  • Inventories and replenishes emergency medication carts as required.
  • Operates and maintains complex pharmacy equipment, including unit dose prepackaging machines, automated dispensing machines, and other pharmacy technologies.
  • Inspects packaged items for accuracy and suitability prior to submitting them for final pharmacist check before distribution to Medical Center areas.
  • Ensures repackaged dosage forms are labeled according to USP and VA standards, with final review and approval by a pharmacist.
  • Maintains comprehensive repackaging records to ensure compliance with all regulatory and review standards.
  • Troubleshoots minor mechanical issues for automated systems and coordinates resolution of more significant problems with the supervisor, vendor help desk, ADPAC, or other appropriate channels.
  • Ensures all inspected areas comply with established standards for appropriate drug storage and security.
  • Demonstrates thorough understanding of requirements for USP 795, USP 797, USP 800, hazardous materials disposal, safe medication distribution, and electronic prescription processing.
• Controlled Substances
  • Maintains accurate electronic inventory through decrementing prescriptions, entering received inventory and transferring to automated dispensing cabinets.
  • Appropriately restocks controlled substance items in automated medication dispensing systems (AMDS) in Pharmacy and throughout the Medical Center.
  • Follows policies and procedures for handling the destruction and return of controlled medications.
  • Monitors and analyzes orders and usage/distribution patterns for questionable circumstances or unusual trends and communicates potential problems to supervisor.
  • Maintains file of hard copy CII-V prescriptions.
  • Resolves inventory discrepancies immediately when discovered by reviewing reports and contacting appropriate people when needed. Reports discrepancies to supervisor, when appropriate.
  • Ensures all controlled substance procedures abide by all local, state and national requirements.
• Outpatient Pharmacy Activities
  • Assembles and fills prescriptions accurately, ensuring the correct drug, strength, quantity, auxiliary labels, and prescription labels.
  • Dispenses medications directly to patients at the outpatient pharmacy window, verifying patient identification and providing medication counseling as needed.
  • Ensures the correct medication is dispensed by utilizing bar code scanning on stock bottles.
  • Supports pharmacy automation by manually processing prescriptions not handled by automated dispensing machines.
  • Operates automated dispensing machines to fill prescriptions, performing daily and routine maintenance, troubleshooting issues, and ensuring efficient and accurate operation.
  • Ensures timely completion and dispensing of all prescriptions to the appropriate location, including window, mail, and internal delivery.
  • Verifies patient identification in accordance with policies.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
Work Schedule: Primarily Monday-Friday with rotating shifts of 7:30am-4:00pm and 8:00am-4:30pm; includes weekend and holiday rotations with an 8:30am-5:00pm shift.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year).
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not eligible
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
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.
• NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.
• 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.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• 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.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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: Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• 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).
• 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.

Grade Determinations:

Pharmacy Technician, GS-07:

• Experience: Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-6).
• 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 all of the following KSAs:
  1. Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.
  2. Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.
  3. Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.
  4. Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.
  5. Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.
  6. Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.

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-7. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-7.

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, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens.

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 HPT's.
3. All other applicants.

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.