Clarification from the agency

Please be advised this vacancy is opened to current permanent VA employees and current/past/upcoming VHA Healthcare Professional Trainee eligible (HPT).

Videos

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

Duties Include:

• The pharmacist provides appropriate selection of drug therapy based upon the pharmaceutical principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; monitoring for efficacy, side effects and clinical outcome; and advises prescribers as appropriate.
• Provides patient-specific therapeutic drug monitoring and communicates relevant findings and/or recommendations to other health care providers in charge of the patient both orally and in writing.
• Performs continuous evaluation of prescribed medications to assure optimal drug therapy.
• Provides medication counseling to patients.
• Completes health and medication histories including patient interviews.
• Serves as a drug information resource by providing up-to-date drug information to prescribers, other health care professionals, patients and caregivers.
• May participate in patient care rounds, reviews charts, evaluates pertinent laboratory data, drug-drug and drug-nutrient interactions, monitors for adverse drug effects, and screens for allergies.
• Performs medication reconciliation at all transitions of care, including updating the medication profile to reflect an accurate, active list of VA and non-VA medications. This may include adding non-VA medications or discontinuing duplicate medications or those the patient is not taking.
• Assesses drug safety and efficacy, including evaluation of physical symptoms.
• Reports adverse drug events (ADE), near miss s. and medication errors in alignment with VA ADERS reporting program.

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.
• You may be required to serve a trial period.
• 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 dentification 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).

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Noncitizens may be appointed when it is not possible to
recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.).

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/.
(NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree
program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.)
(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.

Exception. Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be
given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period
not to exceed 2 years for a pharmacist that provides care under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist.
For grade levels above the GS-11, the candidate must be licensed.

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).

Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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

Grade Determinations:

GS-11 Pharmacist
Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. (NOTE: See
exception to licensure requirement in subparagraph 2c(1) above.)
Assignment. Pharmacists at this grade level serve in a developmental capacity.

GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Full Performance Level)
Experience or Education. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must meet one of the
following:
1. 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, or
2. Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program.
Assignment. A pharmacist in this assignment handles routine medication-related activities in
accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and
regulations. These include, but are not limited to: reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication
orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and
effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from
the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; contacting providers as
appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial
medication supplies; taking health and medication histories; performing medication reconciliation;
providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions,
nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; documenting and assessing adverse drug
events (ADEs); assisting in medical emergencies; providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of
medication distribution. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following
knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs):
1. Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice.
2. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff.
3. Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control
of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security.
4. 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/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-12.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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.