Pharmacy Technician (Specialty)

Specialty Technician

The Specialty Technician functions above the full performance level for Certified Pharmacy Technicians. At this level the incumbent will be required to demonstrate independent technical judgement successfully and consistently (without the need for ready supervision) as well as comprehensive and thorough working knowledge of the most complex and difficult practices and procedures for pharmacy technicians. This will require an expanded scope with significant complexity, difficulty, and range in the area's narcotic accountability, automation, compounding, and procurement. The incumbent will be a highly specialized technician who is responsible for the first line management and operation of automated dispensing equipment, narcotic accountability, compounding, and/or any other higher-level technician functions as needed. The technician in this position will be responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, directives, policies, and procedures for the dispensing and storage of drugs in the narcotic areas of use, automated equipment, compounding, and procurement. Therefore, an understanding of the operation and capabilities of the specialized equipment and applicable federal regulations regarding within these areas will be critical. This will include but is not limited to an understanding of narcotic areas of use, federal rules/regulations regarding narcotic substances, software systems, software upgrades, troubleshooting hardware/software problems, minor repairs, automation recalibration, routine maintenance, and USP 797/800. These responsibilities will at times necessitate the individual to work directly with police services, VA Office of the Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Agency, automation companies', and/or technical/clinical support services to troubleshoot and resolve issues and to maximize efficiency. To perform successfully in this position, the incumbent must have a thorough working knowledge of all pharmacy technician positions and a basic knowledge of how pharmacists interact with specialty systems. This may warrant the technician to fill in for any pharmacy technician position necessary to ensure the efficiency of the service, keep the incumbent's skill levels at the top of their license, and ensure that equipment is efficient for the end users. In addition, given the specialty functions the incumbent is involved with, the incumbent will need to develop a certain level of competency in these specialized technician roles. This will ensure the technician can understand the principles related to inventory management of controlled substances, how to establish usage rates, determine stock levels, understand expiration date requirements, identify manufacturer/distributor sources, concepts involving inventory maintenance, and how to handle medication recalls. Because of their unique position, the incumbent will need to demonstrate critical systems thinking as it relates to automation implementation and process improvement initiatives. The technician will need to maintain the general technical knowledge of medication brand names, generic names, medication use, dosage forms, and general/special storage requirements. In addition, the incumbent will need to maintain an understanding of applicable systems of weights and measures, as well as medical terminology to be able to screen/interpret/verify physician orders.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.

Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year). Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience.

Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Telework: Not Available

Functional Statement #: 55598-F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized