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

The Orlando Veterans Healthcare System provides healthcare services to veterans across a large geographical area in Central Florida to include VA Medical facilities at Lake Nona, Winter Park, Viera and Daytona Beach. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Reads and interprets prescriptions, obtains proper medication or material in the proper strength and dosage form; determines proper amount and 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 for discharge situations. For unit-dose medications, performs final review of medication when prepared by another technician, to be dispensed to inpatient/outpatient areas (med-carts, ward stock), and/or fills unit-dose carts independently without secondary review when necessary. Prepares inpatient/outpatients drug orders including all medicinal dosage forms such as chemotherapy, intravenous admixtures, oral solids, etc., according to established procedures and protocols. Utilizes aseptic technique when preparing IV Admixtures. Inventories and replenishes emergency carts. Operates and maintains complicated pharmacy equipment. Compounds and/or reconstitutes oral or external medications (non-sterile). This includes calculating and converting to proper weights and measures the amount of drug or solution to be used. 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. Assists in total quality improvement activities by participating in medical center and service process assessment and action teams and continually seeks to improve services. Maintains, verifies, stocks, and replaces outdates in patient care area automated machines. Monitors refrigerator temperature on a daily basis in pharmacy. Assists with inventory management and ordering of medicines. Preferred to have a current valid drivers license. Experience working in the inpatient pharmacy setting or in compounding sterile preparations is preferred. Work Schedule: Technicians will be required to work day, evening, night, weekend and holiday tours on a rotating schedule. Virtual Position: This is not a virtual position. Position Title/Functional Statement #:Pharmacy Technician-Inpatient/Outpatient Functional Statement #81990F (Inpatient/Outpatient) Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

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. ***This vacancy announcement is Open to current permanent employees of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA-Nationwide ONLY). This vacancy is Open & Continuous until December 31, 2024 and/or OPEN UNTIL FILLED. Basic Requirements: U.S. citizenship. Non-citizens may 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. Must have a high school diploma or equivalent (proof of graduation or equivalent required) or at least 3 months of experience. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with the scope of pharmacy technician practice. Part-time experience as a pharmacy technician is credited according to its relationship the full-time work week. For example, a pharmacy technician would receive 1 week of full-time credit for each 2 weeks of half-time work. Preferred Experience: Experience working in the inpatient or outpatient pharmacy setting or in compounding sterile preparations is preferred, but not required. Preferred to have a current valid drivers license. To qualify for this position at the GS-7 grade level, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Grade Determination: GS-7:(a) Experience: One year experience at the next lower level (GS-6). (b) Certification: PTCB as a CPhT .....OR.... (NHA) as an ExCPT certification is required at this grade. (c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: (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. Grandfathering Provision: The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all Title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Some of these provisions may not apply to this occupation. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/ registration requirements that apply to this occupation. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation 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 required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that does not require a licensure/certification/registration, may be reassigned, promoted, or demoted within the occupation. Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or demoted within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Such 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 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. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. References: For additional information, see VA Handbook 5005/15, Part II, Appendix G-28 Pharmacy Technician Qualification Standard http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/Directives-Handbooks/Documents/5005.pdf. This can also be found in the local Human Resources Office. Physical Requirements: The Pharmacy Technician must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the duties of this position. The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion, involving standing for prolonged periods of time, lifting/carrying of supplies. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. 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). The full performance level (FPL) of this vacancy is GS-7. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-7.

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 Orlando VA Medical Center 13800 Veterans Way Orlando, FL 32827 US
• Name: Michael Brown
• Phone: 407-631-8495
• Email: [email protected]