Pharmacy Technician (Inpatient/Outpatient)

Pharmacy Technician

Help VA Careers - Pharmacy

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties:

a. General:

1. Accurately interprets, fills, and prepares prescriptions with appropriate medications and or medical supplies for pharmacist verification.

2. Maintains work areas in a clean and orderly condition by assuring that all stock and equipment are in assigned places and all shelves and counters are free of dust and debris to maintain areas for work.

3. Ensures drugs and supplies are appropriately stored and secured according to USP and VA guidelines, including the storage of high-risk, look a-like sound a-like, hazardous, controlled substances, corrosive chemical, flammable liquids, and refrigerated items.

4. Receives, checks, rotates, and places in stock all items received from pharmacy procurement section and identifies and reconciles any discrepancies to ensure correct items have been received.

5. Utilizes automation dispensing equipment available to the pharmacy staff following all safety and quality assurance procedures. Reports automation malfunctions timely to the supervisor, as appropriate.

6. Records expiration dates in the automatic prescription dispensing system upon receipt.

7. Perform monthly inspections to assigned areas to ensure proper storage of medications and soon to expire drugs are removed. Completes inspection reports in compliance with regulatory requirements.

8. Compounds and/or reconstitutes oral or external medications (non-sterile). This includes calculating and converting to proper weights and measuring the amount of drug or solution to be used for final pharmacist verification.

b. Manufactures products requiring compounding, whether made in large batches for more than one patient or in small batches to fill a single prescription or drug order.

c. Correctly interprets physician orders, selects, and measures appropriate ingredients, mixes ingredients in a safe and effective manner, inspects the final product for accuracy, labels the product, maintains records of the manufacturing process, and attains a final check by a pharmacist.

d. Uses standard protocols to determine an accurate expiration date for each batch prepared.

e. Proficiently operates equipment including but not limited to balances and mixing machines in the routing of manufacturing pharmaceutical products.

1. Answers questions from pharmacy and non-pharmacy personnel regarding drug distribution. Identifies basic therapeutic problems, such as duplicate therapy with drugs in the same class and alerts the pharmacist to the possible need for clinical intervention.

2. Assists in training and orientation of new staff technicians, interns, and students. Assumes an active role in the overall pharmacy-training program consisting of students, externs, interns, residents, and professional and non-professional staff members.

3. Demonstrates the ability to work under a variety of circumstances to maximize group productivity and quality.

4. Performs duties of all lower grade technicians, as needed.

5. Participates in performance improvement initiatives for pharmacy.

6. Assists in quality improvement activities by participating in assessment and action teams that will improve the service, as assigned.

Other duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Rotating Shifts including Holidays and Weekends

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

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: Telework is not authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 10621F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized.