SummaryThe pharmacist works primarily within the inpatient and satellite inpatient pharmacies focusing on inpatient care and clinic and procedural area order verification. The pharmacist integrates knowledge and skills of pharmacists and technicians into the distributive and clinical processes of providing outcome-driven pharmaceutical care to Veterans.
DutiesHelp
This position is for a graveyard tour. Therefore, only seeking candidates interested in the specified tour of duty as listed below.
The inpatient pharmacist will ensure all local, VHA, DEA, and other regulatory body policies and regulations are adhered to; review and monitor drug therapy; provide professional advice and consultative services; educate peers, patients, and families; document care in the medical record; and continually integrate new knowledge and technology to improve the quality of pharmaceutical care provided to Veterans.
Functions or scope of duty include:
Clinical- Promote pharmaceutical care service to Veterans in medical center clinics and on inpatient wards.
- Provide prescription dispensing and controlled substance and high-cost drug accountability.
- Review, interpret, and verify medication orders for clinical appropriateness; collaborate with the providers at the front end of the prescription order process to improve patient outcomes; review patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record for appropriate drug selection, dosing, contraindications, and potential interactions; contact providers as appropriate.
- Collaborate 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.
- Complete medication reconciliation upon admission, transfer, and discharge, ensuring the patient's medication profile is updated and document appropriate transitions in care.
- Provide medication counseling and verify patient understanding of the medication, its intended purpose, proper use, expected outcomes, and how to obtain refills/renewals.
- Promote cost effective utilization of formulary medications and supplies and participate in cost savings initiatives.
- Participate 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.
- Discontinue duplicate prescription(s) received at other VA sites and notify other VA sites when appropriate (due to prescription duplication).
- Assist in medical emergencies by participating in code blue events.
Education- Train, educate, and precept pharmacy residents and/or pharmacy students.
- Educate coworkers, medical students, residents, nursing, and other professional staff.
- Educate patients, family, and caregivers on issues relating to drug therapy.
- Distribute and communicate drug information to peers and other health care providers.
Administrative- Provide support to and oversight of technical staff in aspects of medication distribution.
- When assigned, serve as Pharmacist-in-Charge in the absence of a supervisor to ensure continuity of patient care and pharmacy operations.
- Assist with the development of quality and safety improvement initiatives and the collection and analysis of data.
- Assist with the development of policies and procedures that help streamline drug distribution processes.
Research- Assist with development and implementation of pharmacy-based, patient-focused research studies.
- Dispense and maintain accountability records for investigational drugs as needed.
- Provide investigational drug information to medical, nursing, and other professional staff.
- Conduct investigational drug patient counseling when appropriate.
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
Work Schedule: 4 x 10 hour shifts, Saturday - Tuesday, 10:00pm to 8:00am with occasional holidays.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized.
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.
Functional Statement #: 41491-F.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.
RequirementsHelp
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.
- Subject to background/security investigation.
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
- Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
QualificationsTo qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS.
Citizenship.
Citizen of the United States. (Noncitizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S. Code 7407).
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 [redacted]; phone: [redacted], 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.
- Exception. Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of 38 U.S.C. a7 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 2 years for a pharmacist that provides care under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. For grade levels above the GS-11, the candidate must be licensed.
English Language Proficiency.Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
GRADE REQUIREMENTS.
Grade Determinations. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
GS-11 Pharmacist
Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
- NOTE: See exception to licensure requirement above.
GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Full Performance Level).
Experience. 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):
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.
Preferred Experience:Seeking a highly qualified clinical pharmacist with two or more years of recent inpatient experience in a hospital setting. Candidates must hold an active U.S. state pharmacist license. Strong clinical judgment, effective decision making skills, and experience calculating complex medication infusions is essential to this position. The ideal candidate will have inpatient pharmacy experience at a Medical Center hospital with an advanced inpatient pharmacy automation system (Pyxis or Omnicell), experience in critical care or emergency medication infusions, and a working knowledge of the USP 797 and USP 800 sterile compounding standards.
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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-12.
Physical Requirements: The work requires heavy lifting (over 45 pounds); moderate carrying (15-44 pounds); reaching above the shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking (up to 8 hours); standing (up to 6 hours); repeated bending (up to 2 hours); near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to4; far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other; depth perception; ability to distinguish basi
