Summary
The Clinical Pharmacist is the primary professional pharmacy staff member, responsible for the daily operation of the pharmacy medication management systems of this affiliated tertiary care, teaching, medical, surgical, and research hospital, and outpatient pharmacy.
Salary Ranges
GS 12: $138,252- $179,721
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Duties
VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws
- The Clinical Pharmacist will be involved in the independent professional practice of pharmacy in accordance with the guidance set forth in Pharmacy Service and Hines Hospital policies and procedures, VA regulations, state laws, and federal laws governing the practice of pharmacy.
- The Clinical Pharmacist will be under the administrative supervision of a Pharmacy Supervisor.
- The Clinical Pharmacist may be scheduled and assigned to any pharmacy practice area, and must possess the required knowledge and skills in order to perform the following functions:
Responsibilities
The incumbent has responsibility for providing pharmaceutical care and pharmacotherapy services for patients and professional staff within out and inpatient services. The goals are to optimize drug therapy and resource utilization. Within this basic framework, the incumbent assumes the following duties and responsibilities:
- Participate in daily multidisciplinary team rounds (when applicable) and provide drug information, observation on patient response to therapy and appropriate recommendations regarding treatment alternatives or additional interventions to maximize patient care outcomes taking into consideration choice of therapy, safety, efficacy, and pharmacoeconomics.
- Interviews and evaluates patients in acute and ambulatory settings for appropriateness and accuracy of pharmacologic therapy and makes a patient centered care plan for those patients who need pharmaceutical care and will document the medication care plan in the medical record.
- Provides care and/or services appropriate to the age of the patients being served. Assesses data reflective of the patient's status and interpret the information needed to identify each patient's requirements relative to their age-specific needs and to provide care needed as described in the services' policies and procedures.
- Assumption of limited prescribing patient care management functions under appropriate supervision. Prescriptive authority will be established as outlined in the employee's scope of practice (if applicable)
- Provides consultative services to all professional staff and patients regarding medication therapy.
- Designs and/or participates in quality assurance projects/research studies or outcomes research involving drug therapy or clinical pharmacy functions.
- Drug Therapy Monitoring - Drug therapy monitoring should be conducted by Clinical Pharmacists in all areas of pharmacy practice as an ongoing activity.
- Pharmacist Intervention - Relevant findings from drug therapy monitoring activities must be communicated to other health care professionals who are responsible for the patient's care in order to increase the effectiveness and minimize potential risks of drug therapy. In consultation with prescribers, the interpretation of such data will generally stimulate Clinical Pharmacist recommendations for revision of drug therapy plans. The incumbent is expected to provide documentation of the outcomes of interventions to his/her supervisor.
- Pharmaceutical Care - The Clinical Pharmacist shall practice in a collaborative manner with other health care providers in the provision of pharmaceutical care to patient populations as specified in the competency assessment checklist for the position. Pharmaceutical care is defined as the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve a patient's quality of life.
Work Schedule: 8:00AM-4:30PM with rotating tours, weekends, and holidays as needed for patient care.
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
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Requirements
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 probationary period.
- Subject to background/security investigation.
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.
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
- 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. 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
Basic Requirements for the GS-11 (or equivalent) Grade Level:3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree, Ph.D., Pharm.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.
Basic Requirements for the GS-12 (or equivalent) Grade Level: In addition to the requirements for the GS-11 (or equivalent) level, applicants must have a minimum of one year of professional pharmacy experience.
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
- 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):
- 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.
References: VA Handbook 5005 Part II A G15
Education
IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Additional information
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.
If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
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.
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Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
- License
- Resume
- SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.
- Cover Letter
- License
- Other (1)
- Resume
- SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
- Transcript
Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
