Pharmacist (Medication Safety/Compliance Facility Program Manager)

Summary

This Pharmacist (Medication Safety/Compliance Facility Program Manager) functions as a Medication Safety Officer for the Pharmacy Service. This important leadership position will work collaboratively with Pharmacy, Nursing, and health care system leadership and staff. The incumbent manages/coordinates all medication safety, performance improvement, and regulatory (e.g., VHA, DEA, Joint Commission, USP, EPA, etc.) compliance for the service.

Duties

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Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

Telework: Not available

Compressed/Flexible: Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position

Functional Statement #: 11679-F

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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

The VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS) has an immediate opening for a full-time Medication Safety and Compliance Pharmacy Program Manager to work at the Palo Alto Division. This pharmacy leadership position is responsible for all medication safety, performance improvement and regulatory compliance throughout pharmacy service across the whole healthcare system. Works collaboratively with Pharmacy, Nursing, Quality/Safety/Value (QSV) and Health Care System leadership, supervisors, and front-line staff.

The VAPAHCS pharmacy provides comprehensive clinical and distributive pharmacy services to our 300-bed Palo Alto Acute Care hospital division, the Menlo Park extended care and mental health residential rehabilitation division, and Ambulatory Care clinics (primary care and specialty clinics) in the Palo Alto, San Jose, Monterey, Capitola, Livermore, and Fremont CBOCs within VAPAHCS.

Duties and responsibilities include, but not limited to:

• Co-Chairs the healthcare system Medication Safety Committee (sub-Committee of P&T) with a Nurse leader. This includes reviewing items to be brought to the committee; preparing the agenda, minutes and summary; coordinating the presentations; and providing follow-up to the requestors. Reports, drug safety information, and policies are presented to the committee. Serves as a back-up Secretary of the P&T Committee.
• Utilizes medication variance reporting tools and submits monthly and quarterly trending reports to pharmacy management and the Medication Safety Subcommittee for discussion. Problem prone or high-risk areas are identified and targeted for performance improvement with the involvement of the responsible section supervisor and staff.
• Reviews all adverse drug reaction reporting, evaluates monthly and submits to P&T for review/potential intervention.
• Ensures Pharmacy Service is compliant with all regulatory agencies having jurisdiction (e.g., VHA, DEA, Joint Commission, USP, EPA, etc.). This includes reviewing standards and requirements, assessing current level of compliance, working with Pharmacy Leadership team to identify actions plans to achieve compliance, facilitating implementation of actions, and reassessing compliance.
• Develops and revises all medication/regulation-related Health Care System policies. This includes independently researching the topic, coordinating the discussion with interested parties to obtain input and concurrence, writing/editing Health Care System Memorandum or Pharmacy Policy and Procedure Manuals, and routing policy for signatures. All applicable laws and regulatory requirements and professional standards of practice are incorporated into policies.
• Actively participates in all health care system medication related Root Cause Analysis and Medication Aggregate Review teams and works with appropriate pharmacy supervisors to identify potential improvement opportunities and facilitates their implementation.
• Actively participates in process improvement activities in a variety of roles (Facilitator, Champion, Member). Collaborates closely with Pharmacy Supervisors, Informatics/Pharmacoeconomic/Procurement Pharmacists, and front-line staff to see projects through to completion; as well as post implementation data collection.
• Precepts PGY1 Pharmacy Residents and pharmacy students on a Medication Safety/Compliance 5-week block rotation and Longitudinal Leadership rotation.

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. (NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy). TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION
  • 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). YOU MUST SUBMIT COPY OF FPGEC CERTIFICATION WITH THE APPLICATION PACKAGE.
  • 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. YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF CURRENT LICENSE WITH THE APPLICATION PACKAGE

Creditable Experience Knowledge of Professional Pharmacy Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with professional pharmacy practice. Professional practice means paid/non-paid employment as a professional or unlicensed graduate pharmacist as defined by the appropriate licensing board.

Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to pharmacy experience at the next lower level. Experience as a Graduate Pharmacist is creditable provided the candidate was used as a professional pharmacist (under supervision) and subsequently passed the appropriate licensure examination.

Part-time Experience. Part-time experience as a professional pharmacist is credited according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a pharmacist employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

GS-13, Grade Determinations: Pharmacist (Facility Program Manager)

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

(b) 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 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.

AND,

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrated the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs):

1. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.

2. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.

3. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.

4. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.

5. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters

Preferred Experience:

• Completion of a PGY2 Medication Safety Pharmacy Residency/Fellowship strongly preferred
• Minimum of 2 years of work experience serving in a Medication Safety Officer or Director/Assistant Director of Pharmacy role
• Certification of Medication Safety Officer (CMSO) preferred
• Certification in Lean Management -training at yellow, green or black belt levels highly preferred

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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: Must pass physical examination and occupational health requirements. Work requires sitting, walking, standing, bending and lifting/carrying of light items. Extended Periods of working on a computer and being on the telephone.

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