Summary

The Pharmacy Service is looking to recruit for one ( 1 ) Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. The primary Clinical Pharmacy Specialist involves direct patient care utilizing an advanced Scope of Practice (SOP) relative to pain management. This will include assisting primary care providers in co-managing "high risk" patients treated with opioids for chronic, non-malignant pain.

Duties

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• The CPP functions at the highest level of clinical practice, works independently under their scope of practice as defined by Cheyenne VA Health Care System (CVAHCS) to directly care for patients.
• The CPP serves as a program manager ensuring compliance with VHA, VISN, and Health Care System Policy regarding management of chronic, non-malignant pain including functional assessments, consent for long-term opiates management, pill counts, urinalysis, and evaluation of state Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) databases.
• The CPP will support the facility Pain Management, Opioid Safety, and Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PMOP) Coordinator, facility pain POC/clinical leads, facility Primary Care (PACT) Pain Champion, Academic Detailing pharmacists and other facility stakeholders to ensure coordination of pain management, opioid safety initiative (OSI), and prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP)-related initiatives and implementation of VHA and the Joint Commission standards and facility compliance with national policy, clinical practice guidelines, and regulatory requirements.
• A CPP plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider who functions to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: designing, implementing, assessing, monitoring and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic and most economical medication treatments; helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams in assigned areas; and ordering laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy.
• This CPP serves as the program manager of the Cheyenne VA Pain Management Program and is responsible for clinical practice, oversight, quality assurance reporting, compliance with both VISN and Cheyenne VA Health Care System policy regarding pain management and contributes to the continued expansion of clinical pharmacy services within the CVAHCS.
• Maintains an active scope of practice, serving as a mid-level provider.
• Advocates Whole Health ideology and complementary and alternative medicine therapies and obtains whole health training and certifications (e.g., Battlefield Acupuncture)
• Follows-up with patients on lab or test results to discuss the plan of therapy, i.e., changes in medication therapy, monitoring, and additional testing requirements.
• Review patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness, drug selection, dosing, contraindications, side effects, potential drug interactions, and therapeutic outcomes as required. Communicates findings with prescribers and provides appropriate alternatives to current treatment plans as needed.
• Provides comprehensive chart review for opiate receiving patients providing realistic and thorough recommendations to provider of record. Supplies appropriate tapering instructions, as necessary.
• Responsible for the self-development, mandatory training, and education necessary to maintain licensure, stay current with the practice of pharmacy and regulatory body and accreditation standards, and meet facility training requirements.
• Collaborates with the Chief of Pain Management and facility PMOP Coordinator to promote learning experiences and improve performance levels of Pharmacy personnel, specifically relative to primary Clinical Practice areas.
• Instructs or participates in the instruction of supervisors, pharmacy students, and pharmacy residents including developing appropriate rotation plans and completing required assessment forms in accordance with VA, ASHP, Pharmacy Service, and individual school of pharmacy requirements.
• Assists in total quality improvement activities by participating in CVAHCS and service process assessment and action teams and continually seeks to improve Pharmacy services.
• Verifies electronic orders entered by the physician for accuracy while performing a prospective drug utilization evaluation taking into account drug-drug interactions, drug-allergy contraindications, drug-disease interactions, and dosage form. Assures doses are within acceptable limits (including evaluation of FDA recommended doses) and uses professional judgment in determining quantity and day supply. Ensures all orders are finished within 7 days.
• Serves as a primary point of contact relative to use of the Emergency Prescription Services contract for the CPP assigned MSOC ensuring appropriate utilization.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Telework: Situational ( Ad-Hoc) as determined by the agency policy.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #

Requirements

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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 dentification 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.

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.

Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

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.
• English Language Proficiency. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
• 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 60602-5109; phone: (312) 664-3575, or through their Web site at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/.
    
    
    • Foreign Education:
      
      
      • 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 for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

GS 13 Grade Specific Requirements:

GS 13 Experience:

In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

GS 13 Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's): In addition to meeting the experience for the GS-12 level, applicants must possess the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• 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.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

This vacancy is being announced above the FPL at a GS-13.

Preferred Experience: Experience in Pain Management, DEA practitioner license is highly recommended for this position.

Physical Requirements: Physical movements involve completion of routine pharmacy functions which include, but are not limited to: significant computer work/typing involving documenting patient encounters in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS), 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 45 pounds without significant difficulty. Incumbent must be able to stand or sit in one place including repeated bending for considerable time, reach above shoulders, use of fingers, both hands and legs required, during completion of complex tasks. Complexity of mental processes involved is extensive, demanding, and challenging thus requiring the ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously for mental and emotional stability. Glasses are acceptable for vision correction per OF178 as employee needs the ability to read without strain of printed material the size of typewritten characters.

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 or 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.

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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