This position is located at VA Puget Sound, a two-divisional university affiliated teaching and research Medical Center with pharmacy locations at American Lake in Tacoma, Seattle, and outlying community based clinics. The Pharmacy has a pivotal role in the care of Veterans being seen in our centers of excellence in primary care or one of the many specialty services provided by this tertiary Medical Center.

Duties

Clinical: Promotes pharmaceutical care service to Veterans in medical center clinics and on inpatient wards. Provides prescription dispensing and controlled substance/high-cost drug accountability. Interacts and makes recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care. Reviews patient's medications, allergies, labs and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; contacts providers as appropriate. Reviews, interprets, and verifies medication orders for appropriateness; collaborates with the providers at the front end of the prescription order process to improve patient outcomes; ensures computerized patient record system (CPRS) pending prescriptions are triaged, prioritized and processed in a timely manner as it relates to window waiting times, discharges, delivery to wards and mail out. Provides medication counseling and verifies patient understanding of the medication, its intended purpose, proper use, expected outcomes, and how to obtain refills/renewals; performs medication reconciliation to ensure an updated medication profile. Ensures orders are clinically appropriate and meets formulary requirements, provides drug information to providers, assists with therapeutic substitutions, non-formulary reviews and documenting activities in the CPRS record; documents recommendations and interventions according to pharmacy standard operating procedures. Submits adverse drug reaction (ADE) reports and patient incident (PIR) reports according to Medical Center policies. Assists in medical emergencies by participating in codes. Participates in quality improvement and patient safety programs including; incident and adverse event reporting, identifying drug related problems, drug alerts, drug recalls, drug shortages and documenting allergies. Maintains knowledge and practice to help ensure full compliance with medical center accreditation standards and other regulatory requirements. Discontinues duplicate prescription(s) received at other VA sites and notifies other VA sites when appropriate (due to prescription duplication). Education: Trains, educates, and precepts pharmacy residents and/or pharmacy students. Educates medical students, residents, attending staff, nursing and other professional staff. Educates patients, patient's family, and caregivers in issues relating to drug therapy. Distributes and communicates drug information to other health care providers. Administrative: Provides oversight of technical staff in aspects of medication distribution. When assigned, serves as Pharmacist-in-Charge in the absence of a supervisor to ensure continuity of patient care and pharmacy operations. Assists with the development of quality and safety improvement initiatives and the collection and analysis of data. Examples include but are not limited to order sets, MUE's, protocols, monographs, and participation in committees or task groups. Assists with the development of policies and procedures that help streamline drug distribution processes. Research: Assists with the development and implementation of pharmacy based, patient focused research studies. Dispenses and maintains accountability records for investigational drugs as needed. Provides investigational drug information to medical, nursing and other professional staff. Conducts investigational drug patient counseling when appropriate. Performs other functions as assigned by supervisor. Work Schedule: 10:00 pm - 8:00 am. May work weekends and/or holidays. Final Tour Of Duty will be established by Operational Supervisor based on operational needs of clinic. Compressed/Flexible:Compressed Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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). 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. 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). 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). 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. Exception. Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 2 years for a pharmacist that provides care under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. For grade levels above the GS-11, the candidate must be licensed.Failure to Obtain License. In all cases, pharmacists must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure starting from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the unlicensed pharmacist with the written requirement to obtain licensure, the date by which the license must be acquired, and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. Failure to become licensed within 2 years from date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0660 Pharmacist series and may result in termination of employment. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment in paragraph 2, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Full Performance Level)(a) Experience or Education. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must meet one of the following:1. One (1) year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level,OR2. Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program.Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs): 1. Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice. 2. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff. 3. Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security. 4. Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. (b) Assignment. A pharmacist in this assignment handles routine medication-related activities in accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and regulations. These include, but are not limited to: 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. Preferred Experience: 2 Years of recent inpatient pharmacy experience preferred. References: VA Handbook 5005/55, Part II, Appendix G15 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12. Physical Requirements: Physical demands include the following: repetitive motion activities requiring the use hands and fingers for extensive keyboarding and in some settings to open and close medication bottles to check filled prescriptions or preparing doses in the Narcotic Treatment Program; sitting or standing for extended periods of time; easily walking around all areas of the pharmacy and Medical Center (wards and clinics).

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 Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: Christopher Klinkhammer
• Phone: 320-267-5197
• Email: [email protected]