Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy Technician

Salary may be negotiable within the range listed above, based on position requirements and successful candidate's qualifications, subject to appropriate authorization.

Open to the public. This recruitment will establish an open eligible list that will be used to fill current and future Pharmacy Technician positions. The eligible list established may also be used to fill positions in similar and/or lower classifications throughout the County of Orange.

Deadline to apply. This recruitment will be open for a minimum of five (5) business days and will remain open on a continuous basis until 11:59 P.M. (PST) on the day the County's needs are met.

The Health Care Agency (HCA) is a dynamic organization dedicated to creating and supporting an environment that promotes the achievement of optimal individual, family and community health. Under the direction of the Agency Director, a new and dynamic executive team with an organizational structure comprised of five (5) service areas - Administrative Services, Behavioral Health, Correctional Health Services, Specialized Medical Services, and Public Health Services - is committed to meeting the health needs of the diverse Orange County community.

The Departments:

Correctional Health Services (CHS) is comprised of two (2) separate entities. One is for adult inmates, and the other is for juveniles. The Adult CHS program provides medical, dental, nursing, infection control, health education and pharmaceutical services at a community standard of care and provides mental health services including 24-hour emergency triage and crisis intervention, suicide prevention, treatment beds, individual and group therapy, substance use counseling, medication assessment and discharge planning to all adult inmates in the County's five (5) correctional facilities. The Juvenile Health Services program has two (2) clinics —Juvenile Hall Health Clinic and Orangewood Family Health Clinic. Juvenile Health Services (JHS) provides medical, dental, nursing, infection control, health education and pharmaceutical services at a community standard of care to youth who reside in the County's four (4) residential facilities operated by Orange County Probation and Social Services Agency (SSA) Departments and contracts with hospitals for inpatient and specialty care.

The Opportunity:

The Pharmacy Technician will assist the on-site registered Pharmacist with dispensing prescription medications to customers or health professionals as ordered by the prescribers. The pharmacy is in the Main Jail facility located in Santa Ana and provides medications to adult inmates in County jail facilities and to juveniles housed at Juvenile Hall and the Juvenile Camp sites. In addition, the pharmacy oversees the ordering of medications for the Orangewood Children and Family Center (OCFC).

Responsibilities and duties for this position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Preparing daily patient medications utilizing the automated packaging machine
• Accurately filling prescriptions
• Filling and maintaining nursing station automated dispensing cabinets
• Conducting monthly nursing unit medication inspections
• Maintaining pharmacy inventory and ordering cost effective medication utilizing the Cardinal Health online system
• Maintaining vaccine inventory for the Vaccines for Children program
• Maintaining and coordinating the delivery and pick up of medications with an outside courier transport between facilities
• Preparing and submitting purchase requisitions, service request forms to Storeroom for supplies and deliveries, and monthly billing for United States Federal Marshal prisoners
• Maintaining and updating monthly pharmacy records and statistics
• Securely transporting medications

Desirable qualifications and core competencies:

The ideal candidate will have two (2) or more years of experience as a Pharmacy Technician in a hospital and/or retail pharmacy setting and will be certified through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB). In addition, the ideal candidate will also have extensive experience in the following core competencies:

Technical Knowledge | Technical Experience:

• Thorough knowledge of medication dosage forms, and ability to prepare, release and distribute medications and utilize the drug distribution system to ensure the safety, accuracy, and quality of supplied medications
• Knowledge of HIPAA guidelines to protect confidential and sensitive client healthcare information
• Knowledge of and ability to manage and control pharmaceutical supplies, stock, and related records, reports or files to ensure the safety, accuracy, quality, integrity and timeliness of medications and client's safety
• Expertise in filling prescriptions, processing, and billing of medications
• Expertise in inspection/inventory management systems or procedures to maintain proper storage and security conditions of medications
• Expertise in auditing to assess and resolve issues from the inventory shortage problems as they arise
• Proficiency utilizing Microsoft Office Suite and other computer applications to prepare billing documents, record and retrieve pharmacy data

Communication Skills | Oral | Written | Interpersonal:

• Communicating effectively both in person and in writing
• Experience preparing clear and concise pharmacy records and statistics
• Ability to review patient records and collaborate with Pharmacist for medication selection decisions
• Thorough knowledge of grammar, spelling and pharmaceutical terminology
• Ability to maintain a calm and professional manner in stressful situations

Critical Thinking | Problem Solving | Decision Making:

• Ability to evaluate quality control precautions and prevent occurrences of faulty medication dispensation
• Ability to identify systematic problems in medication misuse
• Ability to assess basic pharmacy situations, apply policies and procedures and take appropriate action
• Ability to navigate general jail systems, policies, and procedures, and seek consultations with supervisors in unexpected or unfamiliar situations
• Ability to respond quickly to emergencies throughout all jail facilities

Special qualifications/requirements:

• Incumbents are required to pass a comprehensive background investigation prior to a formal offer and acceptance of employment. Incumbents must maintain Sheriff's Department or Probation Department security clearance for the facilities where they work.
• Applicants must have no felony convictions or be on any form of probation.
• Must be able to pass and maintain background investigation to the satisfaction of the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner. Background screening includes completing of a Personal History Form, interviewing with a background investigator, fingerprinting and may include a polygraph test. Some of the areas considered in the background screening include prior convictions, traffic violations, drug use and credit problems, employment history, professional references, and education verification (i.e., degree, license, or official transcripts. Foreign degrees require an evaluation of U.S. equivalency by an agency that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (N.A.C.E.S.).
• The Correctional and Probation facilities operate 24 hours, 7 days a week, and incumbents may be asked to work on weekends, evenings or night shift and holidays

Minimum qualifications:

Please click here for details on the Pharmacy Technician classification, including the physical, mental, environmental and working conditions. NOTE: Foreign degrees require an evaluation of U.S. equivalency by an agency that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (N.A.C.E.S.).

Recruitment process:

Human Resource Services (HRS) will screen all application materials to identify qualified applicants. After screening, qualified applicants will be referred to the next step and notified of all further procedures applicable to their status in the competition.

Application screening (refer/non-refer): Applications and supplemental responses will be screened for qualifications that are highly desirable and most needed to successfully perform the duties of this job. Only those applicants that meet the qualifications as listed in the job bulletin will be referred to the next step.

Online assessment (un-proctored, weighted 100%): Applicants who meet qualifications will be invited to participate in one or more job related assessments. Applicants will be notified of their test date and access code, if applicable. Only the most qualified candidates will advance to the next step in the recruitment process or will be placed on the eligible list.

Eligible list: Once the assessment has been completed, HRS will establish an eligible list of candidates. Candidates placed on the eligible list may be referred to a selection interview to be considered for present and future vacancies.

Based on the County's needs, the selection procedures listed above may be modified. All candidates will be notified of any changes in the selection procedures.

Veterans employment preference: The County is committed to providing a mechanism to give preferential consideration in the employment process to veterans and their eligible spouses and will provide eligible participants the opportunity to receive interviews in the selection process for employment and paid internship openings. Please click here (Download PDF reader) to review the policy.

Additional Information