The Pharmacy Technician works in a large tertiary care medical center. The medical center is affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the Rutgers College of Pharmacy. The Pharmacy has three locations at East Orange, Lyons, and the James J. Howard Outpatient Clinic in Brick, NJ. The technician may be asked to work at any of the sites if needed.

Duties

The Pharmacy Technician must possess the skills to perform a full range of technical pharmacy duties as well as associated administrative duties. Assignments to any area of the pharmacy may occur based on the staffing methodology of the service. The incumbent is expected to carry out duties in an independent manner. These include but are not limited to: processing and filling outpatient prescriptions for scheduled and non-scheduled federal legend drugs and medical devices, over-the-counter products and supply items; inpatient preparation and distribution of unit dose medications and ward stock items and intravenous admixtures including cytotoxic chemotherapy; crash cart maintenance; stock management; operation, maintenance, re-stocking and troubleshooting of automated dispensing equipment; patient and customer relations; and preparation and maintenance of various logs, records and reports. In addition, he/she possesses the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. The technician may be asked to work at any of the sites if needed. Assignments to any area of the pharmacy may occur based on the staffing methodology of the service. The incumbent is expected to carry out duties in an independent manner. Lists the major duties and responsibilities of the position: Dispensing Function: 1) Reads and interprets prescriptions, obtains proper medication or material in the proper 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. After a final check by a pharmacist, dispenses medication in ambulatory care or discharge situations. For unit-dose medications, performs final review of medication (prepared by another technician) to be dispensed to inpatient areas (unit-dose carts), and/or fills unit-dose carts independently without secondary review. 2) Compounds sterile products, both uncomplicated and complicated, and those associated with a high degree of toxicity such as chemotherapeutic drugs. The incumbent consistently displays competence with good manufacturing practices and sterile technique. Depending on the protocol manufacturing steps may be completed without need for certification by another person. Is competent to perform Sterile Compounding meeting USP 797 and USP 800 requirements. 3) Compounds and/or reconstitutes oral or external medications (non-sterile) without a second review. This includes calculating and converting to proper weights and measures the amount of drug or solution to be used. Is competent to perform Sterile Compounding meeting USP 795 requirements. 4) Performs final verification of simple non-sterile compounds prepared by lower level technicians. 5) Dispenses ward stock according to par levels. Rotates stock and checks expirations dates when delivering stock. 6) Dispenses controlled substances in accordance with all policies and laws governing the receipt, storage and control of these drugs when called upon to do so. 7) Conducts monthly ward inspections of patient care areas. 8) Inventories and replenishes emergency carts without a second review. 9) Collects drug use evaluation data for quality improvement purposes working in conjunction with the inpatient supervisor and QM pharmacist. 10) Operates automated dispensing equipment such as the Omnicell, TCGRx and Optifill to accomplish dispensing function. Prepackages medication using safe work practices. 11) Monitors inventory needs in-patient care areas, relays this information to the appropriate Pharmacy personal. This also includes placing stock in proper storage areas, rotating stock on shelves, and removing/replacing outdated items. 12) Performs all the duties of lower graded technicians when required. 13) Assists in other patient care areas as deemed necessary to maintain the consistency of overall pharmacy services. 14) Applies safe handling when using hazardous materials and can reference the Material Safety Data Sheets. Also is knowledgeable about P and U listed waste. Performs other assigned duties. VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws Work Schedule: VARIABLE (Rotating Shifts/Weekends/Holidays) - To be discussed in the interview Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:21L78-A 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 or Experience: A high school diploma or equivalent; or at least 3 months experience. Certification: Certification by the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) is required at grades GS-6 and above. Loss of Credential: An employee in this occupation who fails to obtain licensure/certification/ registration within the required time frame, or who fails to maintain the required licensure/certification/ registration must be removed from the occupation, which may also result in termination of employment. For occupations which require an active credential (licensure/certification/registration) at all grade levels, at the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation for which he/she qualifies if a placement opportunity exists. For occupations which require an active credential (licensure/certification/registration) in assignments above the full-performance level only, at the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may remain at an appropriate lower grade level in the occupation when both of the following apply: the credential is not a requirement, and a placement opportunity exists. 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). a. Definitions (1) Creditable Experience: To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with the scope of pharmacy technician practice. (2) Quality of Experience: To be creditable, pharmacy technician experience must be documented on the application and verified in an employment reference, or through other independent means. (3) Part-time Experience: Part-time experience as a pharmacy technician is credited according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a pharmacy technician would receive 1 week of fulltime credit for each 2 weeks of half-time work. (4) Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: GS-6 Experience. One year experience at the next lower level and must fully meet the KSAs at the next lower level. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs and the potential to acquire the assignment specific KSAs designated by an asterisk (*): Certification: PTCB certification is required at this grade level and above. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 1. Ability to solve problems and make recommendations, e.g., troubleshoot operational problems and refer for appropriate action. 2. Knowledge of the operation and care of automated equipment. 3. Knowledge of, and ability to follow, written instructions for compounding with aseptic technique for hazardous materials such as oncology agents. 4. Knowledge, and ability to perform, compounding with aseptic technique for routine sterile products. 5. Knowledge of policies and procedures for inventory management in specialized areas such as emergency carts. 6. Knowledge of the computerized prescription process demonstrated by the ability to input prescriptions and medication orders. (Assignments. Pharmacy technicians may be assigned to any area of the pharmacy including expanded distributive function assignments; for example, assignment as team leaders for specific process improvement teams involving technical areas or performing more highly complex duties including preparation of oncology agents for clinical pharmacy specialists. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Preferred Experience: Sterile and Hazardous Compounding experience preferred References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/15 PART II APPENDIX G28, dated MARCH 17, 2006 The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6. Physical Requirements: Work requires long periods of sitting, standing and walking, bending, twisting, and carrying items up to 25lbs. Fine motor skills for the manipulation of products are also required. Work Environment: Work is performed within an outpatient/inpatient Pharmacy setting and within floors/wards/clinics throughout the medical centers. The position requires patient and staff interaction which requires universal precautions and other normal safety precautions. The incumbent wears personal protective equipment (PPE) when in contact with patients with a contagious disease or when in contact with contaminated medication. Safe work habits are practiced. The area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. The work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

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 VA New Jersey Health Care System 385 Tremont Avenue East Orange, NJ 07018 US
• Name: Aleni Salcedo
• Phone: 917 859 9405
• Email: [email protected]