Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. This announcement is open to current, permanent VA employees. The public and employees of other federal agencies may apply to announcement number CBSY-13079588-26-AA.

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Duties include, but are not limited to:

The Clinical Pharmacy Technician (CPT) shall provide support for clinical operations of the Pharmacy, including Care In the Community (CITC) prescription triage and acceptance, electronic health record modernization tasks and subsequent duties, clinical support and scheduling in the Pharmacy Centralized Anticoagulation Clinic, and supporting assigned Clinical Pharmacists and Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners. All clinical decision making will first be reviewed by the Clinical Pharmacist and/or Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner. All assigned clinical activities and functions shall be completed in accordance with approved protocols or procedures. Assigned activities include:

Clinical Activities: The Clinical Pharmacy Technician shall provide and support the clinical operations of the Pharmacy Department. Assigned activities may include:
1) Chart review and confirmation of active/approved CITC consults and initial acceptance/rejection of CITC prescriptions.
2) Clinic duties which entail daily patient appointment review and monitoring of clinic flow to ensure timely patient visits.
3) Conducts patient interviews, including medication history, effectiveness of medications, and need for refills.
4) Routinely reviews computer medication profile for prescription duplication, therapeutic duplication, prescription noncompliance, and allergies/adverse drug reactions.
5) Reports completed medication history reviews to assigned clinical pharmacist for evaluation.
6) Routinely reviews laboratory monitoring reports for selected disease states and identifies patients with lab values beyond normal limits. Reports identified patients to assigned clinical pharmacist for evaluation.
7) Routinely performs patient medical chart and medication profile reviews to identify poly-pharmacy situations. Reports identified patients to assigned clinical pharmacist for evaluation.
8) Obtains and assesses information on compliance, medication dosages, medication changes, alcohol consumption, smoking, bleeding symptoms, and general state of health. Communicates this information to the clinical pharmacist.
9) Enters medication and, when applicable and appropriate, laboratory orders for verification/signature by pharmacist.
10) Provides supplemental reinforcement education for patients concerning operational issues or need for therapy compliance.
11) Runs required reports and reviews data for input by clinical pharmacist.
12) Documents clinical and operational activities as assigned.
13) Utilizes population health to identify patients appropriate for comprehensive medication management provided by clinical pharmacist practitioner.

Technical duties include completing electronic progress notes, scheduling appointments, completing consults, and documenting data in the Pharmacy record or the patient electronic medical record.
i. Communicates to the Clinical Pharmacist and/or Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner any changes in medications/diet, any evident reason for changes in INR value, and any abnormal laboratory findings. Also communicates with other staff (including providers and nursing personnel) any complications of anticoagulation therapy or other problems, when appropriate.
ii. Provides telephone support involved in rescheduling patients who have missed appointments, phone interviews of patients, and triaging incoming phone calls from patients, their family members or other health providers.
iii. When providing scheduling support for Anticoagulation Clinic
a) Prints daily schedules and "No Shows/Lost to Follow Up" reports, or Electronic Health Record (EHR) equivalents. Reviews both reports and patients' charts to identify which patients have and have not been followed up within the last 60 days and why patients missed their scheduled appointments. Patients still requiring follow-up are rescheduled appropriately. Most identified problems are resolved without supervisory assistance. All complex problems are brought to a Clinical Pharmacist's and/or Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner's attention, so they can promptly be addressed. This ensures that all patients are being appropriately followed up in a timely manner.
b) Runs lab list of patients who had INR's drawn and goes through list and triage call for appropriate review. Can make assignments to appropriate level staff members.

Administrative Tasks
i. Incumbent schedules outpatient clinic appointments using the current scheduling package options. Uses established business rules to schedule appointments for veterans. This includes clinic visits, consultations and entries into the scheduling package. Complies with mandatory training requirements for the outpatient scheduling process.

Work Schedule: Full-time; 0730-1600
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.

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

All requirements must be met by the close date of this announcement, 10/27/2026.

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:

1. None required.
2. 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:

1. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR,
2. National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

• 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).

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 and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations:

GS-8 Pharmacy Technician
Experience: Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-7.
AND
Certification: For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:(a) PTCB as a CPhT. OR(b) NHA as a ExCPT.
AND
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
(a) Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.).
(b) Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures.
(c) Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy.

Preferred Experience: Proficiency with medication order entry/transcription; ability to write and communication professionally; familiarity with CPRS, Cerner or both; proficiency with accurate and timely completion of self-directed work. Three years experience as a pharmacy technician preferred.

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-8.

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.

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:
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(5) 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current, permanent VA employees of the facility
2. All other VA

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.