The incumbent coordinates and oversees all operational aspects of the pharmacy automated dispensing equipment in the outpatient and inpatient areas of the pharmacy. Responsibilities include training new employees in the operation of the equipment, troubleshooting malfunctions when problems arise and monitoring the machines performance to assure the safe and efficient operation of the automated dispensing equipment.

Duties

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Training employees on the operation of the pharmacy automated dispensing equipment including at a minimum Startup and shutdown procedures. Restocking medications in the automated equipment. Recalibration of drug cells when appropriate. Routine maintenance/cleaning of the equipment. Procedures to follow for equipment malfunctions. Troubleshooting pharmacy automated dispensing equipment performance by making minor adjustments to the machine when needed and contacting appropriate staff when service is required. Monitors and documents operation of the pharmacy automated dispensing equipment to assure at a minimum Procedures are followed for operating the equipment. Quality Assurance records are maintained (stock replenishment, cleaning schedule, etc). Maintains competency records for employees operating the equipment. Performs all duties of a staff Pharmacy Technician for VA NY Harbor Healthcare System Pharmacy Service including: 5.Medication Management System a) Reads and interprets inpatient and outpatient orders, obtains proper medication or material in the proper strength and dosage form; determines proper amount 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, pass 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. b) Inventories and replenishes emergency carts. c) Collects drug use evaluation data for quality improvement purposes as required. d) Operates and maintains complicated pharmacy equipment. e) 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. f) Performs final verification of simple, non-sterile compounds prepared by lower-level technicians. g) Answers questions from pharmacy and non-pharmacy personnel regarding drug distribution. Identifies basic therapeutic problems such as duplicate therapy with drugs in the same class and alerts the pharmacist to the possible need for clinical intervention. h) Assists in total quality improvement activities by participating in medical center and service process assessment and action teams and continually seeks to improve services. i) Conducts monthly ward inspection of patient care areas. j) Maintains, verifies, stocks, and replaces outdates in patient care area automated machines .k) Monitors inventory needs in patient care areas (ward stock/ automatic replenishment). This includes placing stock in proper storage areas, rotating stock on shelves, and removing/replacing outdated items. l) Monitors refrigerator temperature on all pharmacy refrigerators. m) Performs all the duties of lower graded technicians, if required. n) Maintains a training/education manual for the focus area assigned. Provides training to new or existing staff so that these competencies are maintained. o) Assists patients with tele-pharmacy applications including patient orientation to the application and provides patient education on pharmacy topics such as the requesting refill process, drug information sheets, and relaying judgmental questions to the pharmacist. 5.General Duties a) Assists in other patient care areas as deemed necessary to maintain consistency of overall pharmacy services. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 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. Pharmacy technicians appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. 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). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for appointment inparagraph 5, VA HR staff must use the following criteria to determine the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. Pharmacy Technician, GS-07. (1) Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (2) Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: (a) PTCB as a CPhT. OR (b) NHA as a ExCPT. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (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. 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 are nationally certified and can work autonomously using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties. These pharmacy technicians mentor and train lower graded pharmacy technicians in the practice setting. They assist advanced/ specialized pharmacy technicians and participate in performance improvement initiatives. At this level, pharmacy technicians use independent judgement to perform the full range of duties in the pharmacy. They also function as staff pharmacy technicians in various locations of the pharmacy, including pharmacy contact centers and other non-traditional pharmacy locations, with minimal oversight. References: See VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G28. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-07. Physical Requirements: 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 VA NY Harbor Healthcare System 423 East 23rd Street New York, NY 10010 US
• Name: Maritza Cazares
• Phone: 718-584-9000 X6668
• Email: [email protected]