The Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner (CPP) functions under the general supervision of the Acute Care Pharmacy Supervisor and is assigned to round with general and specialty medical teams at Jesse Brown VA. The CPP is responsible for the provision of pharmaceutical care and direct patient care in the Inpatient Pharmacy and hospital setting. The CPP participates in medical staff rounds and serves as an advisee on matters pertaining to drug therapy and medication safety.

Duties

CLINICAL FUNCTIONS - Direct Patient Care Activities: Evaluates patients upon inpatient admission for medication history, compliance, reconciliation and appropriateness of pharmacologic therapy. Documents all therapeutic related recommendations pertaining to patient care in a pharmacy admission note as necessary. Functions as a mid-level provider to design, implement, and monitor therapeutic drug plans to achieve definite outcomes through direct interactions with patients and providers in assigned areas. Orders, performs, reviews, and analyzes appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies necessary to monitor and support the patient's drug therapy. Makes changes in medication therapy, monitoring, and additional testing as appropriate. Determines if a referral to the physician is necessary when disease progression occurs or adverse drug events require treatment interventions. CLINICAL FUNCTIONS - Indirect Patient Care Activities Identifies and reports any drug-related problems such as allergic reactions, toxicities, adverse reactions, improper dose regimen, noncompliance, etc. Applies knowledge of normal laboratory values in the evaluation of patient care, recognizes significant abnormalities, and makes dose adjustment recommendations based on objective laboratory findings. Performs inpatient/outpatient electronic order assessment to verify patient information, correct medication dose, route, frequency, and duration of administration. Orders are also reviewed for allergies, drug interactions, incompatibilities, duplication, and appropriateness of drug choice. MEDICATION DISPENSING AND DISTRIBUTION: Dispenses controlled substances for inpatients and outpatients with accuracy, per current policies and procedures of the institution. Ensures compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations. Coordinates activities of pharmacy technicians and/or volunteers engaged in the preparation, labeling, dispensing, compounding, and delivery of medications and/or pharmaceutical supplies. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT/ADMINISTRATIVE: Assists with the guidance and direction of the clinical pharmacy program and assists in reviewing the work and projects of pharmacy residents and students. Accepts and accurately completes all assignments from management to improve the pharmacy department and medical center. Assists in the implementation of therapeutic recommendations for selected disease states with VHA, JBVA, and/or other published clinical practice guidelines. EDUCATION AND RESEARCH: Serves as preceptor for Doctor of Pharmacy Students from the University of Illinois, College of Pharmacy and other educational institutions. Actively collaborates within Pharmacy Service and with other health care providers in the design and implementation of drug research protocols, collection of data, and in the analysis and interpretation of results. Educates patients, family members, and caregivers regarding proper use and storage of medications.

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. English Language Proficiency. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). 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.) OR, (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. A pharmacist who has, or has ever had, any license(s) revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16. 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: Experience: In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. 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, but is not limited to, 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. AND, Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the requirements above, Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. 2. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area. 3. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise. 4. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy. 5. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. Preferred Experience: PGY1 Pharmacy Residency References:VA HANDBOOK 5005/55 PART II APPENDIX G15 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: There may be some walking, standing, sitting, bending, and carrying of light items.

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 Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 820 South Damen Avenue Chicago, IL 60612 US
• Name: Debra Phillips-Carter
• Phone: 3125697563
• Email: [email protected]