Pharmacy Technician

Summary

Serves as the VISN 16 South Central VA Health Care Network Health Care Systems Pharmacy Technician for the Southeastern Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System (New Orleans, LA), and Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Houston, Texas), and Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Beaumont, Texas VA facility, and Lufkin, Texas VA facility.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

The Clinical Pharmacy Technician provides and supports clinical operations of the clinics and its CPPs. All assigned clinical activities, and functions shall be completed in accordance with approved clinical pharmacy protocols or procedures: Assigned activities include but not limited to:

• Pull data via the electronic health record (EHR) on all new patients who are new to the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) and add to excel sheet to complete medication history.
• Interviews patients (families/caregivers as appropriate), to develop an accurate list of medications, strengths, and dosages the patient has been taking.
• Interviews patients for any over the counter medications and/or herbal product.
• Review Joint Legacy Viewer (JLV) to see if a patient has been receiving medications from another VA.
• Document adverse reactions and allergies that the patient reports.
• Review any patient compliance issues based on the interview and refill history.
• Document the compiled list in the electronic health record.
• Add the CPP as an additional cosigner to the medication history note in the EHR.
• Contacts and collaborates with other healthcare providers in the facility as deemed appropriate.
• Review all encounters daily and notify CPP for completion.
• Review all consults and notify CPP for completion.
• Review all unsigned notes and notify CPP for completion.
• Review all user alerts and notify all pharmacists for completion.
• Call all patients that are due/late for a refill on their anti-depressants to offer refill to be mailed out for a 90-day supply and notify CPP for renewal.
• Review performance improvement dashboards which include hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, etc. and report to the Clinical Pharmacy Supervisor.
• Review all ambulatory clinics and prepare and present the report to the Access Committee monthly. Tract and trend these finding every month.
• Monitor for all non-formulary medication documentation to ensure to follow the National standard for timely turnaround.

- Review all ambulatory care clinics with the appropriate CPP and the Clinical Pharmacy Supervisor to update and restructure as necessary.

- Enter all LEAF requests for all modifications to pharmacy clinics.

- Enter all LEAF requests for all clinic closures to pharmacy clinics.

- Works closely with other clinic administrative staff.

- Acts as a resource person for planning, reviewing, or revising pharmacy policies and/or procedures.

- Must possess extensive knowledge of all pharmacy computer packages/programs which include but not limited to:

a. Microsoft Windows Programs

b. Computerized Patient Records Systems (CPRS, GUI, VistA, EHR,etc.), national dashboards, National Drug File.

c. Must have comprehensive knowledge of how these computer packages interact with various disciplines within the organization.

• Participate in quality assurance, process improvement activities, and performance monitors.
• Maintain competence by participating in staff development programs.
• Provide in-service programs for appropriate clinic personnel and pharmacy technicians as assigned.
• Successfully complete annual competency certifications based on specific clinical functions/activities assigned.
• Performs all the duties of a pharmacy technician at the lower grades as assigned.
• Assists in other patient care areas as deemed necessary to maintain the consistency of overall pharmacy services

Work Schedule : Rotating shifts, including weekends and holidays, to meet the needs of the service.

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

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 : Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 629-31008F, 580-02171F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Help

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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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.
• Education or Experience.

(1) None required.

(2) 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.

c. Certification: For positions 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 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).

GS-8 Grade Determinations :

Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and demonstrate the KSAs below. Experience at the GS-7 level include: (a) Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work. (b) Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent. (c) Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers. (d) Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students. (e) Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution. (f) Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.

Certification:

For positions 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.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:

• 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.

Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Pharmacy technicians at this level have a higher level of responsibility for specialized areas of pharmacy and are expected to independently carry out assigned tasks of considerable difficulty. Pharmacy technicians at this grade level may be appointed to one of the following assignments: (a) Pharmacy Technician. Pharmacy technicians in this assignment specialize in areas such as sterile compounding, oncology, controlled substances, medication history review, clinical specialist (anticoagulation, pain, infectious diseases), clinical informatics, automation, immunizations and any other specialized area in the advancement of the profession. The pharmacy technician will serve as a subject matter expert and key resource in the day-to-day technician duties of the specialized area. The technician will be performing assignments such as compounding sterile products, filling controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining compliance with Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulations, taking medication histories and counseling patients, managing automation, managing workflow and training and orienting staff in the specialized area.

Preferred Experience: None

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

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

Additional information

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.

Help

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.

Review our benefits

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.