Pharmacy Technician

Summary

This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Durham, NC Veterans Affairs Medical Center under the Pharmacy Service Line. This position can be assigned to work in any section of the pharmacy service and must be available to work rotating shifts.

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Duties

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The Pharmacy Technician works within the pharmacy and performs the full range of pharmacy technician functions in support of Pharmacy Service operations. These functions include processing medication orders, controlled substance processing, inventory management, sterile product compounding, and unit dose processing. The pharmacy provides services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so the incumbent may work evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, etc. Some of the major duties of this position include, and are not limited to:

• Utilizes knowledge of VHA, Durham VA Healthcare Systems and Pharmacy Service regulations and policies concerning pharmaceutical practices in performing day to day functions.
• Performs duties involved in all facets of unit dose drug distribution, in all areas of the inpatient pharmacy.
• Conducts ward inspections by inspecting inpatient wards areas for proper storage of medications and documents findings on inspection report form.
• Uses specialized equipment to package and/or dispense medications and provides required equipment maintenance.
• Performs substantially all sterile technical operations in the IV rooms of the pharmacy, which serves all areas of the hospital. Based on usage rates, the incumbent maintains levels on bulk intravenous fluids that are stocked in assigned areas. The incumbent receives, reviews, interprets, and prioritizes doctor's orders for IV medications after verified by a pharmacist, informs the clinical pharmacist of any perceived questionable orders, prepares labels, selects IV additives and containers, calculates the amount of medications to be used, mixes and/or prepares IV medications, checks prepared IV admixture for particulate matter and affixes labels to containers for clinical pharmacist checking.
• Strictly adheres to aseptic technique procedures and performs normal preventive maintenance for the special IV equipment, such as the laminar air flow hood and data processing hardware.
• Prepares complicated and uncomplicated parenteral admixtures in the form of large volume, small volume, infusion syringes, ophthalmic and other complex pharmaceuticals (e.g. total parenteral nutrition).
• Triages patient/Medical center employees' inquiries.
• Selects/prepares medications in proper dosage sizes, forms, quantities, and delivers to patient care/ward/clinic locations, after clinical pharmacist checking.
• Fills unit dose medications from storage bins to individual patient drawers, transferring cassettes from pharmacy to medication carts on the nursing station as assigned.
• Responds appropriately to inquiries from professional staff, patients, and outside parties, other health care professionals, and refers professional-technical questions received to clinical pharmacists.

Work Schedule : Rotating Shifts, including weekends, evenings and holidays

Telework: Position not eligible

Virtual: This is not a virtual position

Fi nancial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7407(a).

Certification : For position above the full performance level, 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 Health career Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

Grandfathering 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.
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, GS-07

• Experience : Candidates must possess one year (1) of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-06). Pharmacy technicians at the full performance level may fill orders, dispense/deliver medications using automated systems or provide technical customer service to Veterans related to prescription needs. Duties will include delivery of medications to floor/patients, filling medications for the pharmacist to review, checking for expired medications, answering phones with appropriate disposition, preparing sterile products (when applicable) and assisting with basic inventory management such as putting up stock and identifying when medications need to be ordered.
• Certification : For position above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
  • PTCB as a CPhT . OR
  • NHA as a ExCPT .

GS-7 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

In addition to the experience for the GS-07 level, candidate must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.
• Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.
• Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.
• Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.
• Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.
• Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-07 .

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-07 .

Physical Requirements: This position provides services to patients and their families. Incumbents must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Normal work of the position requires visual acuity (with the ability to read typewritten characters without strain, corrective lenses permitted), keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, manual dexterity. This position may require reaching above shoulder-level height and requires potentially moderate levels of lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds). This position requires long periods of sitting, standing and walking. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

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

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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for 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.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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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