GS-8 Inpatient Pharmacy Technician Providing support for the hospital staff by reading and interpreting orders, obtaining the proper medication or material in the proper dose and strength. Working alongside the Pharmacist to ensure the correct medication is compounded, packaged, and delivered to the correct patient, provider, or automated dispensing system.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: A. Reads and interprets prescriptions; obtains proper medication strength and dosage form; determines proper amount and counts, pours, or measures the medications; affixes proper label. B. Performs final review of unit dose medications when prepared by another technician, (tech check tech) to be dispensed to inpatient areas without secondary review when necessary. C. Inventories and replenishes emergency carts with appropriate medications and supplies as assigned. D. Operates and maintains complicated pharmacy equipment including but not limited to Omnicell™, BD IV Prep, laminar flow hoods, etc. Able to troubleshoot the equipment and the technology platforms/databases. E. 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. F. After prescription/order(s) are reviewed by a pharmacist, reviews orders for technical accuracy so that the item dispensed corresponds to the drug and dose ordered. G. Assists in total quality improvement activities by participating in medical center and service process assessment and action teams, continually seeks to improve services. H. Conducts ward inspections of patient care areas. Maintains, verifies, stocks, and replaces medications expiring in patient care areas and the areas' automated dispensing machines. I. Ensures all look alike, sound alike, high alert, refrigerated medications are stored properly according to manufactures recommendations and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requirement. J. Monitors inventory needs in patient care areas, relays this information to the appropriate pharmacy personnel. This also includes placing stock in proper storage areas, rotating stock on shelves and removing/replacing expiring items. K. Provides training and mentorship to new or existing staff. L. Assists management with corrective action plan when excursions in refrigerator temperatures occur. M. Assists with inventory management and ordering of medicines and supplies. N. Processes eligible medications for credit through reverse distribution process. O. Knowledgeable in United States Pharmacopeia (USP) 795/797/800, etc., Pharmacy Law, VHA Directives, and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulations as they relate to practice within the VA Healthcare System and its organizational elements. P. Follows proper aseptic preparation techniques when compounding hazardous, non-hazardous and cytotoxic IV medications. Q. Prepares sterile ophthalmic preparations and other complex sterile pharmaceuticals. R. Technical working knowledge of equipment and supplies used in compounding sterile products including but not limited to needles, syringes, and various compounding supplies, etc. S. Ensures that the IV cleanrooms are cleaned daily, and appropriate logs are completed for daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning. T. Participates in glove fingertip and media fill testing, maintain competencies, passing didactic practical skill assessment initially and bi-annually thereafter. U. Responsibility for keeping abreast of changes in the Pharmacy Service (i.e., Pharmacy Guidance Documents, Pharmacy Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and policies.) and to maintain a general knowledge of VHA, DEA, USP and The Joint Commission (TJC) regulations. V. Assists in airborne particulate and microbial testing and surface testing to ensure cleaning schedules are met. W. Performs all the duties of lower graded technicians, if required. X. This position works within and supports a workgroup (workgroup is considered Pharmacy staff assigned to complete similar work). Y. This position has the potential for occasional travel up to 25%. Work Schedule: Full-time Fort Meade: Monday-Friday, 7:30-4:15, rotating holidays, late shifts, and weekends, weekend schedule 7:30-3:30 Hot Springs: Monday-Friday, 8:00-4:30 Telework: If approved, will be on an ad-hoc basis 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

All requirements must be met by the close date of this announcement. 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). 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 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. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/159 PART II APPENDIX G28 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8. Physical Requirements: 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 Black Hills Health Care System 113 Comanche Road Fort Meade, SD 57741 US
• Name: Adam Abbott
• Phone: 612-629-7067
• Email: [email protected]