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

Clinical: Provides consultations to physicians and other healthcare professionals daily and provides drug information, observations on patient response to therapy, and appropriate recommendations regarding treatment alternatives or additional interventions to maximize patient care outcomes taking into consideration choice of therapy, safety, efficacy, and pharmacoeconomics. Evaluates patients for appropriateness of pharmacologic therapy and makes a pharmaceutical care plan for those patients who need pharmaceutical care, and will document the pharmaceutical care plan in the pharmacy initial assessment or progress note. Participates in developing criteria for drug utilization evaluations, data collection, trending reports, and other quality assurance activities as required ensuring appropriate and safe drug utilization. Monitors and assesses therapeutic and adverse effects of drug therapy (including drug interactions) through selection and evaluation of physical and laboratory parameters. Serves as an authoritative information source on drugs and their utilization in therapy, with special emphasis on medications used in treatment of the assigned patient. Provides consultation on selection of appropriate therapeutic regimens as a follow-up on non-therapeutic drug concentrations obtained from ambulatory care and inpatients. Designs and/or participates in quality reviews involving drug therapy or clinical pharmacy functions. Administrative: Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) reporting. Works with other health care providers to develop programs for improvement of drug use. Develops and conducts drug usage evaluation in areas of need from a cost and patient outcome perspective. Documents cost reduction/cost avoidance activities on a periodic basis. Manages the hospital formulary and ensures its appropriate utilization by health care providers. Accurately completes all assignments in a timely manner as defined by Pharmacy Supervisor. Effectively manages and supervises technical support in the areas of clinical responsibilities. Customer Service: Routinely identifies the customer's/patient's situation properly and performs the tasks required to resolve the customer's/patient's problem accurately and in a timely manner. Follows-up, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution. Listens to all customer/patient feedback, positive and negative, acts to resolve complaints within his or her control, and reports feedback to management (or supervisor) in a timely manner. Meets customer/patient expectations, with results to be determined through an established customer survey or other appropriate feedback system, which has baseline measurements of customer/patient satisfaction. Uses discretion in appropriately safeguarding confidential information. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00-4:30pm. May be required to work weekends and/or holidays as determined by operational needs. Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact Facility EDRP Coordinator: Audrey West at [email protected] or VISN EDRP Coordinator Carri Muller-Rice, [email protected]. 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. 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: 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. (NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.) 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). Grandfathering Provision: All licensed pharmacists employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Employees grandfathered into the GS-660 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration, that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. (3) If a licensed pharmacist who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-13 Clinical Pharmacy Specialist: In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. 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. 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: Completion of ASHP Accredited Pharmacy Residency Program; Pharmacy Board Certification; Previous experience in direct patient care setting working under a Pharmacy Scope of Practice. References: VA Handbook 5005/55 Part II Appendix G15, Licensed Pharmacist Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. This position is above the full performance level. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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 Marion VA Medical Center 2401 West Main Street Marion, IL 62959 US
• Name: Daisy Mejia
• Phone: 6264612059
• Email: [email protected]