This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). 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. 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.) TRANSCRIPTS WITH CONFER DATE REQUIRED 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. 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-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Full Performance Level) 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, or 2. Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs): Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff. Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security. Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. Preferred Experience: Inpatient pharmacy experience with 2-5 years in a hospital setting. 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. Physical Requirements: light to heavy lifting (up to and over 45 lbs), moderate carrying (15-44 lbs), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, walking (8 hrs), standing (6 hrs), repeated bending (2 hrs), near and far vision correctable, depth perception, ability to distinguish basic colors and shades of colors, hearing (aid may be permitted), mental & emotional stability), extensive usage of keyboard and mouse, exposure to: constant noise, dust, working closely with others, working alone, protracted or irregular working hours. ["Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf The incumbent integrates the knowledge and skills of pharmacists and technicians into the distributive and clinical processes of providing outcome driven pharmaceutical care to Veterans ensuring that all local, VHA, DEA, and other regulatory body policies and regulations are adhered to reviews and monitors drug therapy, provides professional advice and consultative services, educates peers, patients, and families, documents care in the medical record according to standard operating procedures, and continually integrates new knowledge and technology to improve the quality of pharmaceutical care provided to Veterans. Duties will include: Clinical Promotes pharmaceutical care service to Veterans in medical center clinics and on inpatient wards. Provides prescription dispensing and controlled substance and high-cost drug accountability. Reviews, interprets, and verifies medication orders for clinical appropriateness; collaborates with the providers at the front end of the prescription order process to improve patient outcomes; reviews patient's medications, allergies, labs and other pertinent information from the medical record for appropriate drug selection, dosing, contraindications, and potential interactions; contacts providers as appropriate. Proactively collaborates with providers regarding medication therapy including anticoagulation management, renal dose adjustment, pharmacokinetic monitoring and dose adjustment, pain management, electrolyte and glycemic management, parenteral nutrition management, IV to PO conversions, sedation/analgesia management, and antimicrobial stewardship i.e. vancomycin per pharmacy. Documents clinical pharmacy activities in the electronic health record (EHR) including therapeutic changes and recommendations with appropriate encounter information according to pharmacy standard operating procedure. Completes medication reconciliation upon admission, transfer, and discharge, ensures the patient's medication profile is updated, and documents appropriate transitions in care. Provides medication counseling and verifies patient understanding of the medication, its intended purpose, proper use, expected outcomes, and how to obtain refills/renewals. Ensures pending inpatient, clinic, and outpatient prescriptions and other distributive workload activities are triaged, prioritized, and processed in a timely manner. Promotes cost effective utilization of formulary medications and supplies and participates in cost savings initiatives. Critically evaluates and completes non-formulary medication requests by using evidence-based decision making. Participates in quality improvement and patient safety programs including patient incident and adverse event reporting, medication use evaluations, drug alerts, drug recalls, drug shortage mitigation, pharmacy related clinical performance measures, and other projects related to patient outcomes. Maintains knowledge and practice to help ensure full compliance with medical center accreditation standards and other regulatory requirements. Discontinues duplicate prescription(s) received at other VA sites and notifies other VA sites when appropriate (due to prescription duplication). Assists in medical emergencies by participating in code blue events. Education Trains, educates, and precepts pharmacy residents and/or pharmacy students. Educates coworkers, medical students, residents, attending staff, nursing and other professional staff. Educates patients, patient's family, and caregivers in issues relating to drug therapy. Distributes and communicates drug information to peers and other health care providers. Work Schedule: Wednesday - Saturday 10:00pm-8:00am - Tour is non-negotiable Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHAEDRPProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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 Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized"]
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.
