Clinical Pharmacy Technician

Summary

The clinical pharmacy technician is a certified pharmacy technician with the ability to support the clinical programs at the Fayetteville NC VA Coastal Health Care System. The incumbent will provide administrative, clerical, and clinical support which serves in the inpatient, outpatient, and specialty clinics.

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Duties

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The Pharmacy Technician will provide administrative, clerical, and clinical support which serves in the inpatient, outpatient, and specialty clinics. The perform work with oversight by a clinical pharmacist, a Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP) for the assigned program area, or other pharmacist while directly reporting to the Supervisory Pharmacy Technician.

Major Duties include but are not limited to:

Anticoagulation Clinic Support:

• Obtains necessary supplies from laboratory service and stocks, restocks supply checking for proper storage and outdates on test strips.
• Performs Point of Care (POC) testing for International Normalized Ratio (INR).
• Reviews medication history, changes (including herbals, dietary supplements, and OTC's), adherence, and complications of therapy and report findings to CPP.
• Accesses patient compliance and attains renewals for Direct Oral Anticoagulants (DOACs).

Medication Management:

• Interviews patients, family members and/or caregivers, to develop an accurate list of medications, drug strengths, dosages, routes, and instructions the patient has been taking.
• Obtains relevant patient information from patient interviews, assisted living facilities (ALF's), and nursing homes using joint legacy viewer (JLV) with our department of defense (DOD) partners.
• Compares the compiled list with the active medication profile in the computerized medical record of the patient.

Hospital Discharges:

• Prepares discharge medications for prescription/order (s) are reviewed by a pharmacist for therapeutic propriety, reviews orders for technical accuracy and converts the order, if necessary, so that the item dispensed corresponds to the drug and dose ordered.
• Reads and interprets prescriptions, obtains proper medication or material in the proper dosage strength and dosage form; determines proper amount and counts, pours, or measures the medications; affixes proper label; and records required data on Pharmacy's copy of prescription /order.
• Assists decentralized pharmacist and other members of the interdisciplinary health care team in ensuring safe and effective care transitions and patient satisfaction throughout the discharge process.

Patient Aligned Care Team Support:

• Provides reminder phone calls to patients.
• Assists staff with scheduling and resolving issues.
• Educates patients to the use of video conferencing visits, My HealtheVet medication profile view and refill use, secure messaging and other technologies as needed.
• Assists with the review of Prior Authorization Drug Requests
• Monitors all unsigned notes and notify CPP for completion.

Vaccinations:

• Transport vaccinations and associated supplies to clinic area which may include transporting in a government vehicle for offsite locations.
• Restock pharmacy and clinic areas with necessary supplies for vaccine preparation and administration.
• Maintain vaccine inventory management and ordering of necessary supplies for vaccinations.
• Administer vaccination to patients, prepare and complete required documentation.

Work Schedule : This will be a compressed tour, 7 days on, 7 days off.

Compressed/Flexible :Available

Telework : Ad-Hoc at the Supervisor's discretion.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 000000

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination.
• 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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: You must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
• Education or Experience:
  • None required.
  • For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level.
• Certification (GS-07 and above): For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
  • Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).
  • National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations : In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-08 you must possess at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-07).

1. Certification: For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
   • Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).
   • National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
2. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs:
   • Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.)
   • Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures.
   • Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy.

Preferred Experience: Inpatient/Hospital, medication reconciliation, and emergency department experience.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08.

Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion, involving standing or sitting for prolonged periods of time, typing, walking distances within the medical center, lifting/carrying (up to 40 pounds) of pharmaceutical supplies, and bending/stooping/stretching.

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

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.

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.

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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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.