SummaryThe Inpatient Pharmacy Supervisor has full responsibility for managing and supervising all phases of Inpatient Pharmacy operations, including assignment of duties, development of performance standards, performance appraisals, recommendations for awards and when appropriate disciplinary action, and the identification of continuing education and training needs. Coordinate resources, schedules, and inpatient clinical services with the Inpatient Clinical Supervisor.
DutiesHelp
The Pharmacy Supervisor is responsible for the professional and administrative management of Inpatient Pharmacy operations at the Seattle Division. Inpatient Pharmacy programs include discharge prescription services, unit dose drug distribution, IV admixture service, chemotherapy admixture service, controlled substance and high-cost drug accountability, drug information, TPN consulting, antimicrobial consulting, pharmacokinetic monitoring, research drug control, substance abuse treatment, spinal cord injury treatment services, support for the Bone Marrow Transplantation Service, and maintenance of a VHA All-Hazards Emergency Drug Cache.
Duties and responsibilities include:
Clinical:- Promote a patient-focused, team-based multi-disciplinary model of pharmaceutical care to promote drug prescribing, medication monitoring, and drug laboratory review that assures positive outcomes from medication use.
- Work to support a system where every patient has an inpatient pharmacist who takes responsibility for the quality of the patient's medication care provided. This model provides exceptional, timely pharmaceutical care services to all medical center patients.
- Assure pharmacists provide patient medication counseling by verifying patient understanding of the medication, proper medication use, expected outcomes, how to obtain more medication, and how the current prescription will be processed (mail or pickup).
- Work with the Inpatient Pharmacy Clinical Supervisor to ensure staff adhere to formulary process so patients receive the most cost- effective drug therapy.
Education:- Conduct on-line training for new pharmacists, residents, pharmacy students, technicians, technician students, and volunteer in the Inpatient Pharmacy. Assess existing and new employee competencies and identify additional training and education needs.
- Identify education and training needs of the section and assist in staff development by presenting information at staff meetings and assist in the development of written standard operating procedures.
- Promote a learning organization culture by stimulating innovative and creative thinking in the workplace. Advocate continual learning for pharmacy employees to help improve performance and contributions in the health-care process.
- Maintain facility affiliate position with the University of Washington School of Pharmacy and serve as a preceptor for the pharmacy residents and Doctor of Pharmacy students.
Supervision:- Assign pharmacists to work on wards and in Central Pharmacy based on staffing, workload, and performance agreements with other Service Lines. Assess workload shifts throughout the day, identify backlogs and make staffing adjustments as needed to meet organizational goals.
- Promote Equal Employment Opportunity principles and base employee decisions on individual qualifications and performance.
- Incorporate continuous quality improvement (CQI) philosophy into all areas of the Inpatient Pharmacy. Develop quality assurance criteria, monitor and evaluate quality of care provided by Inpatient Pharmacy Section and report results to appropriate Pharmacy Managers and Staff.
- Promote controlled substance accountability and security by making sure staff adhere to all controlled substance dispensing and narcotic policies and procedures. Keep appropriate Pharmacy Managers immediately informed of unresolved and/or suspicious discrepancies.
Research:- Serve as back up to the lnvestigational Drug Coordinator when dealing with Inpatient Pharmacy studies and assist other staff pharmacists serving in this role.
- Encourage and assist with the development of pharmacy-based research that focuses on pharmaceutical care issues.
- Use quality improvement tools and techniques to make data-driven, patient-focused enhancements within the service involving front-line staff in the process.
Program Management:- Develop and maintain procedures that assure re-packaging and bar-coding operations maintain consistently high quality. Provide surveillance to validate that quality control procedures are followed.
- Oversee day-to-day maintenance and operation of pharmacy equipment and automation, including IV and unit dose BCMA packaging equipment, automated medication cart-fill equipment, automated dispensing cabinets, and ScriptPro automation.
- Work with other pharmacy supervisors and staff to identify areas of rework or waste and develop solutions to streamline processes, save costs, and improve patient care.
- Assist the Pharmacy ADPAC and Pharmacy leadership with the developing emergency back-up plans for VistA, network, telephone, or automation downtime so that critical patient care functions are maintained.
Work Schedule: Mon - Fri, 7:00am to 3:30pm with occasional holidays and weekends.
Telework: Not available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement # 000000.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
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;
- 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.
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.
Pharmacy Supervisor. Responsible for the professional and administrative management of an assigned area in pharmacy service, to include budgetary execution. Such individuals have responsibilities for supervising multiple pharmacists and technicians. Manages people, maintains effective interdepartmental relations, and cooperates with other services to accomplish the medical facility's mission and goals. Develops performance standards, assures that the program area is compliant with all regulatory and accrediting body requirements, designs and implements orientation and training programs for staff, and develops and maintains systems to monitor the performance of staff activities. Develops policies and procedures relative to their assigned area.
Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:
a. Ability to effectively supervise subordinate staff.
b. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
c. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards pertaining to pharmacy.
d. Skill in managing people or programs.
Preferred Experience:One (1) year of supervisory experience in inpatient pharmacy operations is preferred.
In lieu of one year of supervisory experience in inpatient pharmacy operations, candidates who have successfully completed an ASHP-accredited PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and a PGY-2 Health System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership (HSPAL) Residency (or equivalent leadership/administrative pharmacy residency training) will be considered as meeting the preferred supervisory and/or leadership experience requirement.
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: 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 basic colors; ability to distinguish shades of colors; hearing (aid may be permitted); and mental and emotional stability.
EducationIMPORTANT: This position has a positive education or training requirement. An unofficial copy of college transcripts showing completion of the required degree or program is required and must include the name of the school, your name, date conferred or completed, and degree or certificate type.
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 informationReceiving 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 Se
