Summary

The Investigational Pharmacy Program Manager is responsible for all aspects of pharmacy within the Research Program at VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. The incumbent works independently and is responsible for planning, developing, and managing all Pharmacy Service research programs and activities. The incumbent acts as a partner to pharmacy leadership, pharmacy residents, pharmacy students, and other health care professionals.

Duties

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

CLINICAL

• Evaluates patients and monitors response to medication therapy with special emphasis on study medications and their interactions. Recommends changes in medication therapy as needed. Monitors drug therapy regimes, including routine analysis of patient drug therapy, medical problems, laboratory data, and specialized procedures.
• Analyzes research protocols for potential adverse drug reactions, drug interactions, or contraindications. Identifies any drug-related problems that may affect the patient or contribute to the need for utilization of healthcare resources.
• Provides drug information and consultation to professional staff; evaluates and synthesizes information from primary and secondary sources of clinical drug literature.
• Serves as a medical information resource for health care providers and as an advisor to the Chief, Pharmacy Services.
• Verifies all research medications are ordered in the electronic health record (EHR) Incumbent will also verify the prescription orders for study medications as well as other medications included in study protocols ensuring they match protocol directed treatment in addition to patient safety review for individual interactions.
• Prepares, labels, and dispenses research and other protocol medications to patients or study personnel in compliance with VA directives, policy, and research protocols.
• Preparation sterile products accurately and safely.

RESEARCH

• Assists researchers in preparing investigational drug protocols.
• Maintains complete and accurate data collection for relevant source documents and reports.
• Assists in preparing and submitting regulatory documents for the Investigational Review Board (IRB), Research and Development (R&D) Committee, Office of Research Oversite (ORO), FDA, sponsor, or any other oversite organization.
• Oversees receipt, storage, returns, and destruction of all research medications.
• Assists with pharmacy resident research projects.
• Designs or participates in research studies involving drug therapy or pharmacy services, including drug studies.
• As required, publishes or presents significant results and findings in appropriate professional journals and/or at local, state, or national professional meetings.

EDUCATION

• Prepares, presents and coordinates specialized education and training to pharmacy staff, pharmacy residents, pharmacy students, nursing, medical and allied health care professional staff and students in the areas of investigational drug/pharmacy research and other related subjects.
• Instructs clinical clerkship students and pharmacy students on rotations in the area of investigational medications when requested.

ADMINISTRATIVE/OVERSIGHT

• Oversight of technicians, pharmacy residents and pharmacy students in the provision of research pharmacy services.
• Identifies and resolves problems in the research pharmacy work environment to maintain good employee morale and to meet program objectives by discussing complaints and grievances, getting feedback, and working with all pharmacy personnel.
• Develops and revises policies and procedures for research pharmacy services.
• Develops, participates in, coordinates, and evaluates quality assurance audits and other audits to assure JC, FDA, ORO, NCQA and other regulatory agency compliance by providing feedback to others, monitoring performance indicators and reviewing research pharmacy services.
• Works with medical, pharmacy, nursing, research, and allied health staff to explore, organize, and enhance Pharmacy research activities.
• Serves as Pharmacy Service representative to Medical Center Committees, such as the Research and Development Committee (RDC), to provide pharmacy research support, involvement, and representation.
• Serves in acting supervisory capacities of the Pharmacy Service, to provide effective operation for the service in the absence of other supervisory staff.
• Completes other duties as assigned by supervisor.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Develops, coordinates, supervises, evaluates, and assumes primary responsibility for all pharmacy research programs and services in order to maintain a superior quality of research services offered by pharmacy personnel.
• Coordinates, precepts, evaluates and supervises College of Pharmacy student research activities that are conducted at the medical center.
• Coordinates Pharmacy Research Center activities with other research activities within the service.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm, may include some nights, weekends or holidays.

Telework: Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 590460

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized

EDRP Authorized: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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 [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.

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 Determinations:

GS-13

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

Assignments. Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Facility Program Manager. Manages all aspects of a distinct program to include policy development, quality resources and specialty functions unique to the program to optimize cost effectiveness (budget) and patient outcomes. Coordinates a single program area of a complex pharmacy operation, or multiple program areas within a facility to develop, organize, manage, and control complex pharmacy programs. Develops, organizes, coordinates and manages 6 single or multiple program areas within the medical facility; this may include a single program area at multiple facilities. The Program Manager title is reserved for those individuals who have one or more of the following: supervisory responsibilities for various sections within Pharmacy Service; a complex program requiring coordination of multiple locations such as medical center care facilities, Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), rural health, telemedicine, etc; specialized areas of a complex nature such as nuclear pharmacy, quality assurance, pharmacy informatics, clinical applications coordinator, Home Based Primary Care, pharmacoeconomist or liaison pharmacist duties requiring the coordination of processes with other medical facilities or VISNs

Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• 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: At least 1 year working in Research.

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

Physical Requirements: The work involves long periods of moving, standing and pushing carts about the work unit. The work requires regular and recurring bending, lifting, stooping, stretching, lifting. The incumbent must be a mature, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, demonstrating cheerfulness, compassion, courtesy and concern for staff and patients. Must possess math skills in order to convert medications to the correct dosing. The incumbent must be able to perform all activities of the position without restriction. This position involves lifting 25 pounds or less, able to visually confirm drug order correctness, and able to stand for periods of 30 minutes or greater.

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 o