GS-8 Pharmacy Procurement Technician The incumbent functions as a Specialized Pharmacy Procurement Technician within the VA Central Iowa Health Care System (VACIHCS). This occupational series is eligible for the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP). Repayment is limited to $10,000 annually, up to $60,000 in lifetime awards. Participants must sign a service agreement and maintain an acceptable level of performance to remain eligible for this program.

Duties

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws Duties include, but are not limited to: Pharmacy procurement and inventory responsibilities: 1) Collaborates with members of the Pharmacy Procurement Team, which is defined as the Pharmacy leadership, Inventory Management Pharmacy Program Manager, Pharmaco-Economics Pharmacy Program Manager, Informatics/Medication Safety Pharmacy Program Manager, and staff as deemed necessary. 2) Pharmacy medication and supply purchasing through the approved pharmaceutical prime vendor, medical/surgical prime vendor, and other approved vendors with strict compliance and adherence to contractual agreements and spending limits. 3) Compliance with medication and supply source traceability in accordance with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and VHA Directive. a. Verifies product shipping invoices and information match product received, contacting vendor to investigate and reconcile discrepancies. b. Maintains medication and supply source information in accordance with the DSCSA, VHA Directive, and VHA Records Management guidelines. 4) Verifies all medication and supply orders received align with procurement orders placed and shipping invoices received for accountability and inventory control. a. Maintains all procurement shipping invoices in accordance with VHA Directive and VHA Records Management guidelines b. Reconciles B09 reports with Fiscal service on a weekly basis for review by Chief, Pharmacy, or designee c. Addresses and collaborates with Fiscal service to resolve any discrepancies in a timely manner. 5) Establishes inventory stock levels (i.e., PAR levels) and reorder points to maintain adequate inventory to meet patient care needs with attention paid to responsible execution of resource spending and inventory control to meet or exceed inventory turn goals and minimize pharmaceutical reverse distribution and/or waste. a. Reviews medication and supply product pricing and contract assignment for pricing to ensure cost savings/cost-avoidance and minimize higher priced and/or off contract purchasing. b. Coordinates and executes the annual wall-to-wall Pharmacy inventory with data capture and input by the required deadline for inventory turn calculation and review. c. Monitors medication and supply availability, reports backorders/shortages/allocations, and identifies alternative medications, supplies, and procurement sources when available. d. Communicates medication and supply backorder/shortage/allocation information in a timely manner to the Pharmacy Procurement Team for further communication to facility healthcare staff. e. Maintains the medication and supply backorder/shortage/allocation electronic document on the Pharmacy SharePoint site. f. Responds to requests for urgent or emergent medication and supply procurement needs. Explores options to borrow or purchase from other VA Pharmacy locations or local hospital Pharmacy locations through defined and approved processes to avoid unauthorized commitments. g. Communicates with Pharmacy staff and Pharmacy Procurement Team prior to order deadlines to allow sufficient time to process the respective order. Communicates with Pharmacy Leadership when deadlines are not met. 6) Reviews and completes medication and supply recall notifications in accordance with the VA National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS). a. Provides recalled product procurement history to the Pharmacy Procurement Team necessary for patient-level recalls and notifications. b. Reconciles recall notifications in the NCPS database for review and action by the facility Recall Coordinator by the assigned due date. c. Sequesters and/or returns recalled product in accordance with the product recall notification. d. Collaborates with Pharmacy Procurement Team to identify alternative product options when product recalls negatively impact inventory to meet patient care needs. 7) Collaborates with assigned Pharmacy service staff to ensure appropriate pharmaceutical reverse distribution is completed in compliance with VHA Directive, local policy/procedure/SOP, and regulatory agency requirements. a. Reviews all medication and supply items returned through pharmaceutical reverse distribution and completes a reconciliation against third-party credits received through the pharmaceutical prime vendor. b. Completes continuous inventory purchasing and utilization reviews to minimize excess and expiration resulting in resource loss and increased utilization of pharmaceutical reverse distribution. 8) Assists the Inventory Management Pharmacy Program Manager, or designee, to complete the monthly OIG high-cost drug audit. Work Schedule: Full-time; Monday-Friday Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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: (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. 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). 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). 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: GS-8 Pharmacy Technician (Procurement/Inventory) Experience: Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-7. This experience includes, but is not limited to: Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work; Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent; Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers; Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students; Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution; Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases. AND 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. AND Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs. (a) 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.) Note: See Specialized Area.in the Definitions Section. (b) Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures. (c) Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy. (d) Basic knowledge of pharmacy procurement, distribution and storage requirements to maintain a safe working environment. This includes not limited to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and DEA requirements and regulations. (e) Ability to assist in determining and modifying as necessary: ordering intervals, inventory levels and cost-effective ordering quantities from required sources based on current financial conditions in pharmacy, seasonal variations in drug usage, changing patterns in medical practice, delivery time requirements and urgency of medical need. Preferred Experience: 1 year or more experience working as a Pharmacy Technician at the GS-7 level or above References: VA HANDBOOK PART II APPENDIX G28 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8. You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. 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: (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) 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. (4) 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. (5) 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.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VA Central Iowa Health Care System 3600 30th St Des Moines, IA 50310 US
• Name: Adam Abbott
• Phone: 612-629-7067
• Email: [email protected]