Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (Anticoagulation/Cardiology)

Summary

This Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP) functions at the highest level of clinical practice, working independently under their scope of practice, as defined by the individual medical center to directly care for patients.

Duties

Duties:

• The Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner will divide time between Anticoagulation service and Cardiology, with focus on guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure.
• The Anticoagulation Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner coordinates, develops, manages and controls the pharmacy practice programs for the Anticoagulation Clinic. This includes monitoring of anticoagulants, pharmacy student experiential learning, and other applicable items in accordance with scope of practice. The Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner independently manages anticoagulation therapy in his/her assigned patients and supervises technical support personnel assuring that the clinic system is run efficiently and that quality indicators are met.
• The Cardiology Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner coordinates, develops, manages and controls the pharmacy practice program for the cardiology clinic. This CPP will independently manage heart failure patients upon referral, but may also manage other chronic cardiovascular conditions upon referral as appropriate.

• Medication therapy management: Initiate, modify and monitor pharmaceutical care plans pertaining to medical conditions managed in the primary care setting. Assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of patients' medication regimens by reviewing medical records, other interdisciplinary communications and interviewing/examining the patients as appropriate.
• Therapeutic drug regimens take a risk versus benefit and cost versus benefit and patient-centered approach.
• Evaluation and management of medication-related issues will be provided in a timely fashion, and be based on published treatment guidelines, evidence-based medicine, patient factors, and formulary issues and follow sound medical and pharmaceutical practices.

Medication therapy management and management drug therapy-related issues may be carried out by the following actions by the CPP:

• Make direct changes to medication regimen (e.g. medication initiation, dose adjustment, and, discontinuations).
• Monitors and assesses therapeutic and adverse effects of drug therapy (including drug interactions) through selection and evaluation of physical and laboratory parameters. Orders lab tests as necessary to monitor regimen.
• Recommendations to responsible provider for adjustments to the medication regimen for services/disease states not consulted for.
• Referral back to provider or consult request to appropriate specialist when conditions necessitate and are outside the scope for the CPS.
• Education to patients and/or caregiver regarding patients' medical conditions and on proper use and care of their medications.
• The medication treatment plan and therapeutic endpoints will be communicated with the primary care provider
• Serve as a consultant to other providers for intensive medication therapymanagement services.
• Provides general educational programs for staff and patient-specific evaluation and recommendations. Recommended therapeutic drug regimens take a risk versus benefit, cost versus benefit and patient-centered approach.
• Requests for assistance regarding medication-related issues will be provided in a timely fashion and be based on published treatment guidelines, evidence-based medicine, patient factors, and formulary issues and follow sound medical and pharmaceutical practices.
• Conduct in-service education programs for providers, nursing, pharmacy staff and others as assigned. The incumbent is responsible for providing the medical center's staff with accurate, comprehensive information about drugs and their use.
• Responsible for keeping current with the changes in the Service, and professional practice standards. Maintains an appropriate knowledge of requirements of VHA, DEA, FDA, OIG, JC and other regulators, their policies, and procedures.

Work Schedule: Generally 08:00-16:30 M-F, 07:00-15:30 Sa/Sun, 08:00-16:30 holidays with tour that could be adjusted to meet patient are needs ranging 07:00-18:30

Telework: Adhoc

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 000000

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.
• 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 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.

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:

• 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.) (TRANSCRIPT 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.

GS-13 Grade Determinations:

Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, you must possess one-year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12). Equivalent experience to the next lower grade level (GS-12) may include:

• 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.

AND

You must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's)

• 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: One or more of the following:

Minimum clinical pharmacy experience of one year at GS-12 level or equivalent is required. Preferred experience includes at least one year of post-graduate residency with an ASHP-accredited program and/or advanced certification through a nationally-recognized pharmacy board (i.e., Board of Pharmacy Specialties). Additionally prefer experience in management (dosing, monitoring) of anticoagulants and/or cardiologic conditions including complex hypertension and heart failure.

References: VA Handbook 5005 Part II, Appendix G15, Licensed Pharmacist VA Qualification Standard

Physical Requirements: Physical movements involve completion of routine pharmacy functions which include but are not limited to significant computer work/typing, prescription order entry and processing, contact of patients (both face to face and via phone). Certain tasks are repetitive in nature and require multiple steps performed in succession for success. The incumbent should be able to lift and carry up to 50 pounds without significant difficulty. Incumbent must be able to stand or sit in one place for considerable time during completion of complex tasks. Complexity of mental processes involved is extensive, demanding, and challenging. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.