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

Customer Service Treats patient, team members, other facility employees and visitors with respect. Responds to the needs of the Veteran and staff in a courteous and timely manner. Demonstrates appropriate and proactive interpersonal skills to achieve the goals of the service. Acts as a team member and always supports efforts of both the pharmacy and clinical pharmacy specialist team. Demonstrates an ability to work under a variety of circumstances to maximize group productivity and quality. Clinical Core functions include comprehensive medication management in practice areas identified in their individual scope of practice, daily team rounds, pharmacokinetic monitoring, renal dose adjustments, anticoagulant therapy management, and antimicrobial stewardship. Functions as a mid-level provider to design, implement, and monitor therapeutic drug plans to achieve definite outcomes through direct and indirection interactions with providers and patients in assigned areas. Orders, reviews, and analyzes appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies necessary to monitor and support the patient's drug therapy. Follows-up on lab or test results to discuss the plan of therapy, i.e. changes in medication therapy, monitoring, and additional testing requirements. Obtains medication histories from patients and/or family members/surrogates (medication reconciliation) as needed and summarizes significant findings in the medical record and/or relay to the provider as appropriate. Assists with coordination of care for outpatient services and transition of care needs. Clinical Reviews patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness, drug selection, dosing, contraindications, side effects, potential drug interactions, and therapeutic outcomes as required. Monitors for and reports drug errors, adverse drug reactions, allergies, and patient compliance issues. Documents findings per facility procedures. Applies knowledge of normal laboratory values in the evaluation of patient care, recognizes significant abnormalities, and makes dose adjustments/ recommendations based on objective laboratory findings. Reviews and evaluates requests for non-formulary and restricted drugs for appropriateness and compliance with established criteria where applicable. Assists Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee with medication use evaluations and other safety initiatives. Works with providers to develop and implement policies and procedures, clinical pathways, and order sets to provide evidence-based care while ensuring compliance with national, VISN, and local initiatives. Promotes and monitors compliance for established drug therapy policies. Determines if a referral to the physician is necessary when disease progression occurs, or adverse drug events require treatment interventions. Education and Research Participates in the training and in-servicing of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, and other staff on assigned teams. Serves as preceptor for pharmacy students and pharmacy residents in accordance with established policies. Assists in new employee training, competency assessments, and mentoring as required. Actively collaborates with other health care providers as opportunities arise to help contribute to research and/or publication to advance the practice of pharmacy. Drug Information Serves as an authority on drug usage, interactions, over-dosages, and compliance, to medical staff, nursing staff, technicians, and students. Use appropriate references to research drug information. Maintains a current knowledge of therapeutics and disease management and a good working knowledge of information resources, both written and electronic. Provides timely and accurate responses to drug information inquiries from all customers. Effectively instructs patients and family members/surrogates in the appropriate use of medications and medical devices. Adjusts communication and tracking methods based on age, cultural, and developmental considerations. Accurately assesses and documents patient comprehension. Refers patients to educational programs provided at the medical center by multidisciplinary teams. Program Management Serves on medical center and/or VISN committees as requested. Adheres to all medical center and department policies and regulations. Manages information security within areas of responsibility to assure that computer system security and confidentiality of sensitive information is maintained, and that employee access to sensitive information is limited only to that which the employee requires to perform their duties. CPS will act as necessary to report and address violations of information security. Other related duties as needed. Work Schedule: Tour varies. Telework: Approved for Ad-Hoc Telework Only. All requests for Telework must be approved by your supervisor. 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. 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). 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. English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). 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-13 Experience. In addition to the basic requirements stated above, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist: 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: Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. Preferred Experience: Candidates for the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) should possess the skills outlined above with specific experience in primary care chronic disease management and/or long-term care disease management. Candidates should have recent experience in a current or previous job (including residency training) that includes direct patient care and comprehensive medication management responsibilities. Preferred candidates will have an advanced pharmacy degree (Pharm.D), board certification (BPS), PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, or equivalent experience or mentorship. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G15, 6/7/2012, VA Pharmacist Qualification Standards, GS-660. Scope of Practice: The individual scope of practice will be dependent upon the pharmacist's education, training, and experience required to perform the functions of the position. All VHA pharmacists with a SOP that includes prescriptive authority must participate in a professional practice evaluation program. Supervisory Controls: The pharmacist serves with considerable independence in all areas of pharmacy activity under the supervision of the Associate Chief of Pharmacy for Clinical and Education Services. The pharmacist is also accountable to the Chief, Pharmacy Service, or their designee, for professional licensure, competency, and continuing education. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the work are generally minor. The work is primarily sedentary in nature and usually occurs within climate controlled clinical and administrative settings. Use of fingers may be required to operate computers. There may be occasional light lifting/carrying (15 pounds or less) requirements to relocate boxed materials from one area to another, equipment and room set-up, and ambulation related to physical inspections of the facilities.

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 Hampton VA Medical Center 100 Emancipation Drive Hampton, VA 23667 US
• Name: Rodney Smith
• Phone: 4042421623
• Email: [email protected]