Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) of the VA Medical Center in Lexington Park, MD.

The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist supervises all pharmacotherapy provided by team providers to ensure that National Treatment Guidelines are being followed in addition to adherence to National Formulary and local policy.
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Responsibilities

Duties include, but not limited to the following:

• Utilizes the highest level of clinical privileges for Clinical Pharmacy Specialists to manage assigned patients;
• Evaluates the drug literature by analysis of experimental design and methodology, in order to compare and contract therapeutic regimens and roles for new drugs, with a special emphasis in medications used in referred patients;
• Designs a therapeutic regimen or plan, based on patient-specific information that includes establishing a therapeutic endpoint, electing an appropriate drug and related therapy, and establishing an appropriate dosage regimen;
• Monitors and assesses therapeutic and adverse effects of drug therapy (including drug interactions) through selection and evaluation of physical and laboratory parameters;
• Provides physicians and other providers a focal resource for discussion of medical problems requiring a pharmaceutical intervention;
• Interviews each patient conducting a medication history and formulating a pharmaceutical care plan;
• Makes recommendations to the responsible physician for optimal management of drug-induced problems either verbally or in writing;
• Manages the medication programs of patients by writing verbal orders for appropriate medications, diagnostic studies, etc., in the patients' medical records, in consultation with the responsible physician;
• Provides and promotes cost effective pharmacy services, offering reasonable, appropriate alternatives to high cost drugs;
• Educates patients on the proper use and care of their medications through the day-to-day personal interactions with the patients;
• Provides formal education and training programs in the area of cardiac pharmacology, therapeutics, pharmacokinetics and related subjects to physicians, nursing staff and other health care professionals as appropriate;
• Provides drug information and drug literature evaluations as requested by the professional staff;
• Serves as a mentor to Pharm.D. students and residents;
• Plans and coordinates formal and informal instruction/orientation to all staff within area of assignment;
• Serves as preceptor of resident's research projects as assigned;
• Coordinates and supervises all pharmacotherapy management activities in the CBOC.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/22/2019.
Basic Requirements:

CITIZENSHIP: Citizen of the United States.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English.

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.
(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).
Note: You MUST provide a legible copy of your transcripts with your application package to receive consideration.

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.
Note: You MUST provide a copy of your license with your application package to receive consideration.

NOTE: Individuals who have or have had multiple licenses and had any such license revoked for professional misconduct, professional incompetence or substandard care, or who surrendered such license after receiving written notice of potential termination of such license by the State for professional misconduct, professional incompetence, or substandard care, are not eligible for appointment to the position unless such revoked or surrendered license is fully restored (38 U.S.C. 7402(f)). Effective November 30, 1999, this is a requirement for employment. This requirement does not apply to licensed pharmacists on VA rolls as of that date, provided they maintain continuous appointment and are not
disqualified for employment by any subsequent revocations or voluntary surrenders of State license, registration or certification.

GRADE DETERMINATIONS: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

GS-13: In addition to the GS-12 requirements (1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, or Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program), applicants must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

Qualifying experience includes: 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):

a. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
b. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
c. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
d. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of
pharmacy.
e. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.
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).

References: VA Handbook 5005/55 Part II Appendix G15 Licensed Pharmacist Qualification Standard 660

The full performance level of this vacancy is 13.

Physical Requirements:

- Ability to lift twenty (20) pounds. Moving, lifting or carrying boxes.
- Ability to stand for extended periods
- Fine Motor Skills
- Visual acuity

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and reach forward with hands and arms. The employee is
occasionally required to sit and stoop, kneel, or crouch. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
The overall physical demand rating for a job of the pharmacist falls within the light classification (exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or 10 pounds of force frequently, and for a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects.
Physical demand requirements are in excess of those for Sedentary Work, even though the weight lifted may be only a negligible amount) according to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

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.

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.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

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, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

NOTE: The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will review the selected candidate's education and experience and recommend the grade and salary at which the candidate will be placed. For internal selectees eligible for promotion, the board will recommend grade and HR will determine step in accordance with policy.

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.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Licensure
• 10-2850c
• Resume
• Transcript

VA Form 10-2850c Application for Associated Health Occupations can be found at: http://www.va.gov/vaforms/search_action.asp?FormNo=2850&tkey=&Action=Search .

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
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• OF-306
• Licensure
• 10-2850c
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

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.