Pharmacist (Clinical Specialist) - PACT

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Duties

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The patient aligned care team (PACT) clinical pharmacist practitioner (CPP) serves as a highly trained medication management expert on the interdisciplinary team to manage all medication needs of patients assigned to the PACT team. The CPP functions at the highest level of clinical practice and works independently under their scope of practice (SOP) as defined by the individual medical center to directly care for patients.

Clinical Functions

• Manages acute and chronic disease states under Scope of Practice.
• Reviews and evaluates medication regimens for clinical effectiveness, drug selection, dosing, contraindications, side effects, potential drug interactions, and therapeutic outcomes.
• Performs polypharmacy reviews to identify opportunities to reduce medication and therapeutic duplications and enhance patient medication administration compliance.
• Orders, reviews, and analyzes appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies necessary to monitor and support the patient's drug therapy.
• Participates in care coordination by designing pharmaceutical care plans, if needed, and documenting interventions performed in electronic health record, allowing for seamless transitions of care and effective communication within the patient's healthcare team.
• Collaborates with the healthcare team to develop, implement, and maintain systems and tools that promote optimal medication use and desirable clinical outcomes through use of safe, cost-effective drug therapies.
• Serves as an expert source for drug information. Provides both written and oral drug information to physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals as well as to patients and their caregivers. The CPP utilizes the most recent literature to draw a clear, concise conclusion applicable to effective disease management and pharmacotherapy.
• Provides the review and adjudication of non-formulary medication orders consistent with departmental guidelines and policy.
• Participates in the design, implementation, and reporting of clinical and pharmacoeconomic studies and evaluations as assigned.
• Assists in the accurate and timely verification of patient medication orders, as assigned, by reviewing all medication order input fields and finishing the order to ensure both accuracy and appropriateness.

Administrative and Program Management

• Maintains an outstanding and up-to-date clinical knowledge base regarding medication therapy, contemporary journal articles, and contemporary pharmacy practice.
• Provides and supports leadership and management oversight as it relates to the clinical programs and clinical activities of assigned personnel.
• Determines opportunities to enhance pharmacy services to support patient education, patient adherence, clinical outcomes, and team member growth and development.
• Routinely benchmarks with national contemporary programs, makes recommendations for clinical pharmacy service, and leads program changes when directly involved in the assigned practice area.
• Participates in the development of quality and performance monitoring programs to support the optimal use of our personnel and medication resources.
• Actively demonstrates a willingness to generate cost containment ideas and then to implement and enforce departmental and/or institutional programs to support the wise use of available resources.

Education and Training

• Participates in the orientation and ongoing training of pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, pharmacy staff, and allied healthcare professionals
• Teaches staff and patients on a wide range of medical subjects. Teaching may be in regularly scheduled classes or may include presenting lectures, preparing hand-outs, giving demonstrations, newsletters, or other means available.
• Monitors the educational needs of providers, pharmacists, and patients, and make recommendations to address any deficiencies. Actively participate in supporting any defined educational programs and activities.
• Coordinates and supervises the activities of postgraduate residents as preceptor and maintains preceptor requirements according to the ASHP Accreditation Standards.
• Maintains and improves professional competency by keeping up with information on new medications, new medication therapies, and innovations in pharmacy practices.
• Obtains and maintains Basic Cardiac Life Support Certification (BLS).

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:45am-4:15pm

Telework: Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 08158F

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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 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.

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.
• 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 [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.) (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)
  
  • -OR-
  • 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). (DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED)
• 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.

Grade Determinations:

GS-13 Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

Experience: In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) VA or Non VA Experience

• Examples of GS-12 experience includes, but is not limited to: handling routine medication-related activities in accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and regulations; 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; trucing 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

In addition, must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (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: PGY1 or PGY2 residency; Board Certification; Experience practicing under a scope of practice.

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-13.

Physical Requirements: Work is performed primarily in the outpatient pharmacy in Decatur, IL, where there is a potential for exposure to communicable diseases. Such areas are adequately heated and ventilated, and safety precautions are required. In some cases, dealing with anti-neoplastic drugs may expose the incumbent to hazardous and toxic agents. The incumbent works with drugs/chemicals and must exercise precautions to avoid accidental contact to the skin, eyes, and lungs. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of interview.

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