The Pharmacogenomics (PGx) Clinical Pharmacy Technician is responsible for coordination and provision of clinical pharmacy services to the patients receiving PGx care through the VA Northern CA Health Care System (NCHCS) PGx Pharmacy Program.

Duties

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws The Pharmacogenomics (PGx) Clinical Pharmacy Technician will work closely with other team members to provide outstanding service to our Veterans by answering questions and addressing concerns related to PGx care. Position tasks will require problem solving, organizational knowledge, and excellent communication skills. Duties include but are not limited to the following: Clinical Demonstrates independence and technical judgment consistently without the need for readily available supervision. Conducts patient interviews, including medication history, pharmacogenomic history, and utilization of PGx results, need for medication refills and investigating causes of therapeutic irregularities. Communicates changes in PGx informed medications and/or dose with patient if applicable. Documents all communication in the patient's electronic record. This includes reporting of adverse drug reactions and incident reporting. Reviews patient lab results and triage per protocol. Documents pertinent patient information for pharmacist review as appropriate. Participates (in conjunction with clinical pharmacists) in medication utilization evaluations, quality improvement projects, dashboard review and utilization, data analytics, and quality reporting as assigned by NTPGx/NPP. Education/Training Provides supplemental reinforcement education for patients concerning operational issues or need for therapy compliance. Creates or assists in creating Patient Education Materials; works with appropriate facility committee to gain approval for patient use. Attends and actively participates in all clinical pharmacy activities as directed by the facility, i.e., staff meetings, staff development, clinical conferences, etc. Maintains competence by participating in staff development programs and successfully completes annual competencies. Provides training and resources for clinical staff who are new to PGx which could include basic program presentations to services lines. Administrative Performs administrative and clerical tasks to support the program. Communicates with patients and other health care professionals. Triage phone calls, voicemails, emails, and other messages from internal and external customers. Fax, email, or mail correspondence to appropriate patients and staff. Communicates with outside entities to gather information for PGx CPP. Performs records management duties related to assigned clinical area. Reports equipment malfunctions to appropriate personnel to facilitate resolution. Assists with administrative tasks related to Professional Practice Evaluations. Assesses and distributes the patient care workload to staff assigned to clinical area. Performs scheduling and coordination. Utilizes expertise in computer skills as it relates to Microsoft products and others as assigned. Maintains and updates SharePoint(s). Manages technical assignments of NCHCS PGx to assures continuous and consistent coverage of the clinic. Monitors patient scheduling to assures appropriate patient follow-up and time to next clinic availability. Participates in QA/QI projects, medication utilization evaluations, safety initiatives, dashboard utilization and review, other data analytics, and cost savings initiatives as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible:Not Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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. Education or Experience. None required. 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. Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT). Grandfathering Provision. Pharmacy technicians employed in VHA 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 in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Employees 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 journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. 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 who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. 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. Physical Requirements. Required to undergo and pass a pre-employment physical. English Language Proficiency. Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for appointment, the following criteria will be used to determine your qualifications. Creditable Experience. To be creditable, a candidate must possess the required knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the scope of pharmacy technician practice. The candidate's experience must be evidenced by active professional practice. (Active professional practice means paid/nonpaid employment as a professional pharmacy technician.) Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week. For example, one week of full-time credit is equivalent to two weeks of half-time work. Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to pharmacy technician experience at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity 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. Pharmacy Technician, GS-08 Education or Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: PTCB as a CPhT. OR NHA as a ExCPT. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs: Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.) Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures. Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy. 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 have a higher level of responsibility for specialized areas of pharmacy and are expected to independently carry out assigned tasks of considerable difficulty. Pharmacy technicians at this grade level may be appointed to the following assignment: Pharmacy Technician. Pharmacy technicians in this assignment specialize in areas such as sterile compounding, oncology, controlled substances, medication history review, clinical specialist (anticoagulation, pain, infectious diseases), clinical informatics, automation, immunizations and any other specialized area in the advancement of the profession. The pharmacy technician will serve as a subject matter expert and key resource in the day-to-day technician duties of the specialized area. The technician will be performing assignments such as compounding sterile products, filling controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining compliance with Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulations, taking medication histories and counseling patients, managing automation, managing workflow and training and orienting staff in the specialized area. Preferred Experience: Prior experience supporting clinical programs. Prior experience with Population Health Management including Dashboard experience. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/159, PART II APPENDIX G28, November 07, 2023 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-8.

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 Northern California Health Care System 10535 Hospital Way Mather, CA 95655 US
• Name: Marisella Souza
• Phone: 925-356-4088
• Email: [email protected]