Clinical Pharmacist

Summary

In this role you would be responsible for managing multiple complex programs such as medication protocols, therapeutic drug monitoring, adverse drug reactions, medication reconciliation, medication histories and medication counseling for outpatients and inpatients in acute, subacute, and extended care units.

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Duties

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VA Careers - Pharmacy :

FUNCTIONS OR SCOPES OF PRACTICE:

Clinical:

• Participates in multidisciplinary team rounds when assigned to an inpatient unit.
• Provides consultative services that foster appropriate, evidence-based medication use.
• Interviews and evaluates patients on admission and discharge and as necessary during stay when assigned to an inpatient unit or within ambulatory care settings for appropriateness of pharmacologic therapy and develops a pharmaceutical care plan for those patients receiving complex and high-risk medication regimens.
• Evaluates drug therapy through direct patient care involvement for inpatients and outpatients, with clinical assessment and objective findings related to patient's responses to drug therapy and communicating and documenting those findings and recommendations to the appropriate providers and in appropriate records (e.g., patient's medical record).
• Monitors and assesses the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.
• Initiates, continues, modifies, discontinues, and otherwise orders drug therapy for both inpatients and outpatients only in accordance with health care system protocols, policies, and procedures.
• Functions as a therapeutic consultant to providers and health care teams to develop, implement and maintain effective mechanisms to promote the safe, economical, and rational use of medications.
• Monitors formulary management protocols and programs approved by the Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee in the limitation or restriction of medication use.
• Performs medication reviews and evaluates as assigned and when necessary to support patient care and comply with established standards and regulations.
• Attends Code Blue emergencies when assigned to an inpatient area.

Distributive

• The Clinical Pharmacist performs all duties that are considered routine of a staff pharmacist at VAEKHCS without a standard operating procedure (i.e., processing and filling medication orders).
• Interprets and evaluates inpatient and outpatient medications orders for appropriateness of drug therapy.
• Identifies, interprets and resolves prescribing and dispensing issues, including pharmacotherapeutic and formulary management. Documents interventions as necessary.
• Responsible for the safe and appropriate dispensing of medications within the unit dose, automatic replenishment/ward stock, IV admixture and outpatient prescription medication management systems.
• Process mail que. If non-VA provider for a controlled substance, must check Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) and make sure provider has a valid DEA license.

Education

• Provides orientation and training to new employees, including technicians, volunteers, and pharmacists.
• Serves as a preceptor for pharmacy clerkship students and pharmacy residents. Academic Professional Record (APR) must be maintained annually.
• Maintains professional competency on drug therapies and innovations in pharmacy practice pertinent to the care provided in this health care system.
• Provides medication counseling to patients and/or caregivers.
• Provides discharge medication counseling to patients when assigned to an inpatient area, and documents this in the medical record.
• Assists in the development, coordination and provision of drug therapy in-service programs, staff development programs, patient education programs and other system- wide drug information programs.

Administrative Support/Program Management:

• Provides technical guidance and monitors pharmacy support staff assigned to their work areas.
• Performs proper recordkeeping and maintains proper documentation when required or appropriate for all dispensing activity and patient interventions.
• Ensures sensitive data for patient files, both printed and electronic, remain confidential.
• Ensures ADP systems for pharmacy practice and patient care are utilized for official duties and remain secure.
• Actively participates in various quality management and performance improvement activities such as drug utilization evaluations, drug class reviews, adverse drug reaction monitoring, new drug request reviews, prior approval/non-formulary drug reviews, ongoing drug monitoring, and a variety of activities associated with the provision of pharmaceutical care.
• Serves as a member of pharmacy and health care system clinical care committees and workgroups.

Research:

• Designs and/or participates in drug related research studies under FDA guidelines that have undergone review and approval by the Research & Development Committee and the Investigational Research Board.

Work Schedule : Primary 8 hour day shift, with off tour coverage as needed.

Compressed/Flexible :Not Available

Telework : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 0000

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

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 ( 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)
• 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: View phone number on click.appcast.io, or through their Web site at: (NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.)
  • 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 InternetBased 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.

Grandfathering Provision: All licensed pharmacists employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:

• Employees grandfathered into the GS-660 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
• Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration, that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
• If a licensed pharmacist who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

Grade Determinations :

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.
• Residency and Fellowship Training. Residency and fellowship training programs in a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for- year basis. The pharmacy residency program must be accredited by the American Society of Health- System Pharmacists (ASHP). A fellowship program that is not accredited by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) will need to have comparable standards for experience to be creditable (Professional Standards Board refers to the Deputy Chief Consultant for Professional Practice for the determination).
• 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.

GS-11 Pharmacist: Experience, Education, and Licensure - None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Full Performance Level):

Experience or Education. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must meet one of the following:

1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level,

or

Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program.

Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs)

• Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff.
• Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security.
• 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

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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: 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:

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 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.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

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.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.