Pharmacy Technician

Summary

The Care in the Community (CITC) Coordinator Pharmacy Technician is a certified, highly specialized technician responsible for coordinating all outpatient pharmacy-related aspects of community care prescriptions and authorizations. The incumbent serves as a liaison between Outpatient Pharmacy, Community Care program manager and pharmacists, non-VA providers, patients, and internal VA clinical teams to ensure timely, accurate, and compliant processing of community-based medication needs.

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Duties

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The Care in the Community (CITC) Coordinator Pharmacy Technician is a certified, highly specialized technician responsible for coordinating all outpatient pharmacy-related aspects of community care prescriptions and authorizations. The incumbent serves as a liaison between Outpatient Pharmacy, Community Care program manager and pharmacists, non-VA providers, patients, and internal VA clinical teams to ensure timely, accurate, and compliant processing of community-based medication needs. Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Assists with maintaining required records, documentation, and reference materials related to community-care medication processing, safety standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinates regularly with supervisory pharmacists and Community Care program staff regarding workload status, authorization needs, and operational issues.
• Monitors Community Care dashboards, consult queues, and workload reports to identify pending prescriptions, delays, or patients requiring pharmacy intervention.
• Triages community-issued prescriptions for completeness, formulary requirements, documentation needs, and eligibility for VA fulfillment in accordance with VHA, VA CC, and local policy.
• Utilizes knowledge of available contract information and patent right limitation to switch to alternate generic products when available.
• Utilizing the government purchase card, selectee will comply with all acquisition regulation, Federal, VA, and local to include mandatory sources/ contracting hierarchy.
• Coordinates with non-VA providers to obtain necessary clinical information such as diagnosis, progress notes, lab results, or corrected prescription details.
• Reviews clinic and community care schedules and collaborates with procurement and pharmacy supervisors to ensure medication and supply availability when VA fulfills the prescription.
• Maintains communication with Community Care staff, VA clinicians, and non-VA providers regarding changes in authorization status, anticipated medication needs, and workflow adjustments.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule : 8:00AM-4:30PM M-F May include weekends/ holidays per the needs of the pharmacy dept.

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.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• 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).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.
• Certification. The employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:

1. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR
2. National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

Proof of this certification must be provided with this application.

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.
• Certification. The employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:

1. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).OR
2. National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

Proof of this certification must be provided with this application. 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). Grandfather Provision . A Pharmacy Technician employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (11/7/2023) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:

1. Employees 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 journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (This position is above the full performance level)
2. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
3. 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.
4. Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
5. 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.

Grade Determinations : Pharmacy Technician (Procurement/Inventory) - Experience Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, you must possess at least one (1) year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-08).

-AND-

In addition to meeting the experience for the GS-09 level, do you possess the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

- Expert knowledge serving as a key resource advising others in their particular specialty area or section of the pharmacy (such as procurement, sterile compounding (USP compounding standards), controlled substances DEA, automation, clinical pharmacy, lead tech, contact center, etc.).

- Skill in analyzing data for self-driven (independent) performance improvement projects, workload analysis and statistical reports.

- Skill in solving problems and implementing corrective actions to maximize outcomes in their program area.

- Ability to maintain special accreditations and prepare for national reviews/inspections (e.g., The Joint Commission, Inspector General, American Society of Health System Pharmacists, controlled substance inspections).

- Ability to develop training programs and material for orientation, competency development and educational needs for regulatory requirements within the specialized pharmacy program area.

- Knowledge of pharmaceutical and supply inventory requirements to ensure compliance with regulations and national/audit/inspections (e.g., financial regulations, The Joint Commission, Inspector General, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, DEA, USP 797/800, FDA 503A/B).

- Knowledge of clinical specifications, characteristics and ordering processes of a wide variety of soft prosthetics and supply items (e.g., catheters, colostomy, ileostomy and urostomy supply and associated products) that technicians procure to dispense to Veterans in the outpatient pharmacy setting

.- Skill in managing specialized programs related to inventory including, but not limited to, specialty medications and supplies, All Hazards Emergency Cache Program, recalls, reverse distribution and pharmaceutical waste.

Supervisory Control: The technician works under the supervision of the Clinical Pharmacy Technician Supervisor or designee. The technician independently plans and completes work using established protocols and accepted practices. The technician is considered a program subject-matter expert for Community Care prescription workflows and exercises independent technical judgment. Issues involving unusual circumstances are brought to the supervisor or pharmacist, but sequence and timing of work are generally at the technician's discretion.

Preferred Experience: Experience in Outpatient Pharmacy operations, including Community Care processes.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

This announcement is for a position that is above the full performance level.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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 or 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.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

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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