The Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, Pharmacy Service, is currently recruiting for one (1) Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, in Oklahoma City, OK. 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: (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. Grade Determinations. In addition to the basic requirements, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-13 Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level which includes 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. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. Preferred Experience: 1-2 years of pharmacy residency training and experience in direct patient care pharmacy. 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-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: The position may require walking, standing, and sitting for long periods of time. The position also requires climbing stairs, lifting up to 50 pounds, dexterity of the hand and wrist, and arm strength to perform dispensing of medication orders. All activities are conducted with the goals of self-enhancement and personal growth, and within the guidelines of safety and security regulations. Tours of duty for the Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner, Pain include but are not limited to 7:00 am - 3:30 pm; 8:00 am - 4:30 pm; 9:00 am - 5:30 pm, and all other rotating shifts deemed necessary based on the needs of the service. ["The Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner, Pain is a representative of pharmacy service who provides comprehensive medication management of patients with pain through face-to-face, telephone, CVT or VA Video Connect encounters and by providing written or verbal consultations. The incumbent is a participant of a multidisciplinary team working to optimize outcomes for patients with pain. The Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner, Pain serves as an educational resource for patients, providers, and students/residents within the facility. The Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner, Pain is a participant in committees and other groups purposed to improve care of pain patients in the system. The Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner, Pain is responsible for compliance with all policies, regulations, and requirements from all authoritative entities. All clinical pharmacist duties may be a part of the position including verification of physicians' orders, patient education, profile review (allergy, drug interaction screens, etc.), supervision of technicians, providing drug and policy information to patients and medical center staff. Major duties and responsibilities of the position include but are not limited to: Direct and Indirect Patient Care Functions: Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner, Pain uses expertise in pain management to optimize patient care as an advanced practitioner of pain pharmacy and is authorized within the guidelines of a scope of practice to function as a provider of services to patients with pain. Direct patient care activities will be through face-to-face or non-face-to-face encounters and documented as per medical center policy. Interfaces with physicians and other health care professionals in the care of patients with pain. This includes direct assistance for other providers in rational medication selection by providing written and/or verbal consultation. Under the scope of practice and appropriate physician involvement, designs and monitors therapeutic plans. This includes the choice of medication, dosage, laboratory tests, and therapeutic endpoints. The work is accomplished by gathering all necessary patient-specific information and through the use of accepted clinical practice principles. Each plan should be consistent with policies and guidelines established at the national, VISN, and local levels. Recognizes adverse drug reactions to pain medications and makes appropriate changes in therapy. Evaluates the drug literature to compare and contrast therapeutic regimens. Is responsible for planning, developing, and maintaining effective clinical pharmacy programs that advocate for rational, cost effective drug therapy to improve patient outcomes for pain patients. This occurs in coordination and partnership with appropriate services/initiatives in the OKC VA Health Care System, such as the multidisciplinary Pain PACT. Establishes and expands the patient data base through interpretation of medication history, physical examination, and ongoing patient specific monitoring of drug therapy and documents this information in the formal patient medical record. Uses dashboards operated through the national, VISN, and local levels to identify patients appropriate for pharmacotherapy service and identify changes in process needed to improve quality of care. Education and Training Functions: Assesses and provides for the educational needs of the patient and family to help ensure that pharmaceutical outcome goals are met. Provides specialized education and training support to other professional services in the broad area of advanced pharmacotherapeutics. Serves as a clinical resource in the broad area of medication use in patients. Supervises pharmacy students on assigned rotations, as scheduled. Supervises pharmacy residents or fellows on clinical rotations and/or other learning experiences. Designs and supervises implementation of interdisciplinary programs in education, training, and clinical practice with pharmacy, medical, dental, nursing, and research services. Dispensing: Evaluates patient medication orders and dispenses appropriate medications and dosage forms, properly labeled after reviewing for completeness, eligibility and appropriateness of drug, dose, route, strength, quantity to be dispensed, reviews for drug incompatibilities, inappropriate combination, potential adverse drug reactions, and dosage ranges. Provides strict security and accountability of all controlled substances. Conducts accurate perpetual inventories utilizing prescribed record keeping and audit procedures. Provides quality control for labeling, prepackaging, compounding and dispensing activities of controlled substances by pharmacy service personnel. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 635-54875-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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.
