This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center (RHJVAMC) is recruiting for one PACT Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner (CPP) at the Beaufort, SC Community Based Outpatient Clinic. The PACT CPP is responsible for planning, implementing and operating the clinical pharmacy programs and is assigned to cover in the primary care or any of the specialized areas of pharmacy. The CPP plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider to initiate, modify, or discontinue medication therapy, except for controlled substances, and as a consultant for medication services by the providers of the medical center. The CPP is primarily responsible for providing direct patient care to scheduled and unscheduled patients through referral, warm handoff and population management. Duties include but not limited to: Accepts a shared responsibility in the development and ongoing review of all policies and operating procedures specific to clinical practice area. Responsible for the appropriate, effective and safe use of pharmaceuticals within practice area. Initiates quality assurance and improvement activities, including but not limited to medication use evaluations, medication management, monitoring and safety, criteria development, and policy creation and/or revision, that demonstrate improved patient care outcomes. Contributes to budgetary stewardship by incorporating cost savings initiatives into clinical practice and identifying potential cost reduction opportunities to improve overall healthcare services. Independently resolves provider and patient care issues, concerns, and questions as related to clinical practice. Provides clinical coverage in the pharmacist-run clinics in Primary Care and other clinics as assigned. Offers expert knowledge and advance skills in pharmacology, therapeutics, drug-drug interactions, and medication safety. Reviews clinic patient profiles for appropriate drug therapy, adherence issues, drug interactions, adverse drug reactions, medication safety, unnecessary polypharmacy, and dosage adjustments for special considerations such as renal/hepatic insufficiency. Obtains patient medication histories and counsels patients and/or relatives on medications as requested by providers or for patients enrolled in pharmacist-run clinics. Evaluates and processes non-formulary and restricted medication requests from assigned providers in a timely manner, and adheres to policies and procedures related to the processing of these requests. Identifies, reports, and appropriately manages medication-related complications, adverse drug reactions or events, and medication errors. Provides expert, clinically appropriate drug information to patients, caregivers & medical center staff as needed. Orders laboratory tests as necessary to evaluate and monitor medication therapy. Demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to adult and geriatric patients in his or her assigned unit, area or department. Maintains clinical experience, expertise, and scope of practice in areas consistent with clinical background. Effectively communicates with providers to establish positive interprofessional relationships, influence clinical care decisions, and solve technical issues related to clinical practice independently as needed. Orders supplies to support medication compliance and accurate medication administration (e.g., syringes, needles, tablet splitters), in accordance with VA medical facility policy. Manages the clinic automated dispensing cabinet (Pyxis) inventory, dispenses urgently needed medications in clinic as needed in collaboration with PACT teams and assist with contract pharmacy prescriptions if needed. Ensures proper storage and monitoring of refrigerated medications in clinic, including management of any temperature excursions. Successfully functions as a member of the pharmacy team, which may involve interacting with and/or training clinical pharmacy technicians, clinical pharmacists and other clinical pharmacy practitioners in specialty and primary care sections. Maintains adequate qualifications to precept APPE pharmacy school students and/or pharmacy residents (PGY1 and PGY2) successfully through providing constructive feedback regarding quality of educational experiences. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am -4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 10096F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

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(1) Graduate of an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. Verification of approved degree programs may be obtained from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, Illinois 60602-5109; phone: (312) 664-3575, or through their Web site at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/. (NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.)(2) Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the graduate is able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification, which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT). Licensure. Full, current and unrestricted license to practice pharmacy in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or the District of Columbia. The pharmacist must maintain current registration if this is a requirement for maintaining full, current, and unrestricted licensure. NOTE: Individuals who have or have had multiple licenses and had any such license revoked for professional misconduct, professional incompetence or substandard care, or who surrendered such license after receiving written notice of potential termination of such license by the State for professional misconduct, professional incompetence, or substandard care, are not eligible for appointment to the position unless such revoked or surrendered license is fully restored (38 U.S.C. § 7402(f)). Effective November 30, 1999, this is a requirement for employment. This requirement does not apply to licensed pharmacists on VA rolls as of that date, provided they maintain continuous appointment and are not disqualified for employment by any subsequent revocations or voluntary surrenders of State license, registration or certification. English Language Proficiency. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). 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-13 Grade Determination: Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Experience includes: reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; contacting providers as appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies; taking health and medication histories; performing medication reconciliation; providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions, nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; documenting and assessing adverse drug events (ADEs); assisting in medical emergencies; providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of medication distribution. Assignments. Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. The clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) functions at the highest level of clinical practice, works independently under their scope of practice as defined by the individual medical center to directly care for patients. A CPS plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider who functions to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services. This includes the following: designing, implementing, assessing, monitoring and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic and most economical medication treatments; helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams in assigned areas; performing physical assessments; and ordering laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs: a. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. b. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area. c. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise. d. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy. e. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. Preferred Experience: Successful completion of PGY-2 pharmacy residency in ambulatory care or with >50% of time spent in ambulatory care practice, or Successful completion of PGY-1 pharmacy residency focused in ambulatory care clinical practice, or Experience practicing under a peer-reviewed scope of practice in primary care within the past five years References: VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G15 Licensed Pharmacist Qualification Standard dated June 7, 2012. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting (15-44 pounds); Moderate carrying (15-44 pounds); Straight pulling (up to 1 hour); Pushing (up to 1 hour); Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Repeated bending (up to 2 hours); Both legs required; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16"; Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Ability to distinguish shades of colors; Hearing (aid permitted).

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Ralph H Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 109 Bee Street Charleston, SC 29401 US
• Name: Todd Bellamy
• Phone: 704-638-9000 X16469
• Email: [email protected]