This Clinical Pharmacy Specialist-CLC Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner position is in the Pharmacy Department at the VA Maine Healthcare System, located at the Togus ME location. This position is Full Time at 40 hours per week. 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: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education: 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. 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). License: 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. English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). IN ADDITION TO THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING: GS 12 Experience or Education: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must meet one of the following: 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS 11, OR Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program. The candidate must demonstrate the experience or education above as well as the following 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. GS 13 Experience: In addition to the GS-12 requirements, candidates must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. 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. The candidate must demonstrate the experience above as well as the following KSAs: 1. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. 2. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area. 3. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise. 4. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy. 5. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. Preferred experience: Completion of a PGY-1 pharmacy residency +/- PGY-2 geriatric residency +/- BCGP board certification Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The work requires prolonged periods of time sitting and performing data entry as well as regular and recurring physical exertion, involving standing for prolonged periods of time, lifting/carrying of pharmaceutical supplies weighing up to 50 lb., and bending/stooping. Work is typically performed in a clinical setting that exposes incumbent to communicable diseases and hazardous chemicals common in a health care environment. Such areas are adequately heated, and ventilated, and normal safety precautions and PPE are required. Some work is performed in a setting away from the pharmacy where the environment cannot be controlled. ["The Clinical Pharmacist performs duties of a clinical and teaching nature, including direct patient care, routinely functioning with minimal supervision as an independent practitioner operating under a scope of practice and delivery of clinical pharmacy services to the Geriatrics/Community Living Center team. Duties include, but are not limited to: Coordinate all clinical pharmacy functions for VA Maine Healthcare System's Geriatric/Community Living Center program and work with other team members in solving all drug related problems. Demonstrate expertise in the area of geriatrics and the goals and objectives of the Geriatric/Community Living Center program. Attend and participate in Geriatric/Community Living Center multidisciplinary rounds, team meetings, conferences, and other meetings as required for the purpose of making recommendations and providing consultation in all Pharmacy-related matters. Perform initial and routine periodic assessment of patients' medication therapy, monitor as needed, and make recommendations as necessary. Provide daily pharmacokinetic management/monitoring through the Medical Center's Therapeutic Drug Monitoring program for all Veterans housed in Geriatric/Community Living Center Service specifically, Veterans receiving vancomycin or aminoglycosides. Provide daily anticoagulation management and monitoring of Veterans housed in Geriatric/Community Living Center Service. Conducts drug utilization reviews, quality assurance activities and, utilization reviews as required. Collaborate with other Geriatric/Community Living Center staff, educating the veterans and caregivers regarding the proper use of medications. Supervise pharmacy trainees assigned to the program. Provide medication information to other Geriatric/Community Living Center team members. Report directly to and require minimal supervision by Clinical Teaching Coordinator, Pharmacy Service. Serves as a resource to the hospice and palliative care team on an as needed basis. Responsible for daily performance and oversight of provider-consulted, clinical pharmacy pharmacokinetic monitoring program for acute care wards. Assure compliance with VA and other accrediting bodies in terms of meeting all medication use standards. Work Schedule: Full Time - Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Telework: Yes, Telework Ad-Hoc work can be performed on an as needed basis anywhere other than a VA facility or using VA-leased space. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: F02819 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized Notifications: This position is in an AFGE Bargaining Unit. This position is in the Excepted Service. This position is on a special salary rate. The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment."]
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.
