Pharmacist/ Clinical Pharmacist

Pharmacist

The Pharmacist handles routine medication-related activities in accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and regulations. These include, but are not limited to: reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; contacting providers as appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies; taking health and medication histories; performing medication reconciliation; providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions, nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; documenting and assessing adverse drug events (ADEs); assisting in medical emergencies; providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of medication distribution.

The Pharmacist/ Clinical Pharmacist:

• Consults with physicians and other providers on appropriate pharmaceutical treatment regimens for patients.
• Provides consultation to physicians and other health care professionals on both basic and specific information concerning formulary alternatives.
• Spends up to 25% of time providing clinical services to clinic patients, providers, and other clinic staff.
• Provides patient consultation concerning individual drug therapy and related problems and needs.
• Evaluation of non-formulary consults in accordance with VA criteria for use of non-formulary medications.
• Monitors use of non-formulary medications on discharge and fee prescriptions to ensure that VA patients receive appropriate medications according to VA criteria of use.
• Processes pharmacy interventions regarding medication changes in therapy, drug-interactions, drug allergy processing, dosage errors, and other pharmacy interventions.
• Notifies providers of appropriate changes to medication orders and make appropriate recommendations.
• Records pharmacy interventions in appropriate intervention software to track and trend interventions for quality assurance purposes.
• Provides appropriate selection of drug therapy.
• Provides patient-specific therapeutic drug monitoring.
• Performs continuous evaluation of prescribed medications to assure optimal drug therapy.
• Provides medication counseling to patients.
• Completes medication histories including patient interviews.
• Serves as a drug information resource to health care professionals, patients, and caregivers.
• Participates in patient care rounds, review charts, evaluates pertinent laboratory data, drug-drug, and drug-nutrient interactions, monitors for adverse drug effects, and screens for allergies.
• Performs medication reconciliation.
• Assesses drug safety and efficacy, including evaluation of physical symptoms.
• Reports adverse drug events (ADE), near misses, and medication errors.
• Participates in the medical center medication utilization evaluation (MUE) program.
• Recommends formulary alternatives and completes non-formulary consults as assigned.
• Participates in medical emergencies including code teams (if BLS or ACLS certified) and emergency preparedness activities.
• Provides pharmacokinetic consultation, including dosing vancomycin and aminoglycosides.
• Implements P&T Committee policies including therapeutic interchanges and automatic substitutions.
• Manages recalls and medication shortage situations by substituting alternate dosage strengths and instructions of the same medication to equal the prescribed dose and schedule.
• Extends refills until next scheduled appointment under the provider's name per facility policy.
• Serves as a role model and preceptor to pharmacy students and residents.
• Assumes an active role in staff development of peers and provides educational in-services to nursing, medical staff or to other ancillary services.
• Interprets and evaluates physician medication orders for both accuracy and appropriateness.
• Verifies provider medication orders in VistA to include drug interaction monitoring, proper dose, rate, and dosage form.

Duties are continued in the Benefits section of this announcement.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 1 PM - 9:30 PM, alternate tours of duty may be assigned to meet service requirements including weekends and holidays.

Telework: Ad-Hoc Telework is available.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: Pharmacist, GS-11: 53587-F, Clinical Pharmacist, GS-12: 53588-F

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized