Pharmacy Technician (Procurement/Inventory) - Procurement Pharmacy Technician The Procurement Pharmacy Technician is responsible for the oversight for all prescription and nonprescription medications and supply purchasing in a highly complex area of Pharmacy Service at VA Black Hills Health Care System.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: Administrative 1) Continuously analyzes and reassess priorities to ensure workload demands are accomplished in the most effective, efficient, and economic manner. 2) Effectively evaluates pharmacy activities to assist pharmacy management in obtaining short- and long-range goals and objectives. 3) Assists pharmacy management in identifying areas of effort duplication and developing solutions to streamline processes, reduce waste, save costs, and improve patient care. 4) Reports potential and/or actual medication errors. Encourages pharmacy technicians to report actual and/or potential medication errors or adverse events. 5) Assists in quality improvement by participating in service process assessments and action teams and by continually seeking to improve the service. 6) Knowledgeable in and ensures other procurement staff follow all department, pharmacy service, station level, VISN, National and VHA, DEA, policies, and procedures. 7) Demonstrates efforts to improve patient satisfaction, lower cost, and improve quality and timeliness. 8) Works constructively as a team member, assisting co-workers in tasks that support staff, visitors, and other customers in achieving service toward facility and network goals. 9) Attends all procurement and pharmacy meetings as required. 10) This position works within and supports a workgroup (workgroup is considered Pharmacy staff assigned to complete similar work). Pharmaceutical Purchasing and Distribution 1) Serves as an ordering officer for pharmacy service, delegated by the VA National Acquisition Center while maintaining annual training requirements. 2) Assists in determining ordering intervals and stock levels appropriate to meet changes in formulary, brand to AB rated generic drugs, contract changes, conversions, new drug indications including backorders and seasonal changes. 3) Incumbent may be required to obtain the necessary certification to order narcotic medications through pharmacy prime vendor. 4) Purchases using National contracts (NAT), Federal supply schedules (FSS), Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) and open market etc. to ensure compliance with federal acquisition regulations, and policy, understands and provides guidance to ordering officers on contracting hierarchy of all purchases. 5) Process receipt of inventory for the purpose of drug accountability or other inventory management system. 6) Utilizes government issued credit cards for micro purchase limits with understanding of when to use; while maintaining required proper documentation, and reconciliation of receipt of all orders in a timely manner for auditing and accountability purposes, training, etc. 7) Possesses advanced technical knowledge of VA and regulatory agency requirements for drug storage and special requirements for procurement, storage, distribution, and handling of various hazardous and non-hazardous drug classes. 8) Removes expired medications from stock, isolates, and processes them for safe removal according to VHA Directives and standard operating procedures. 9) Maintains a clean working environment and determines when shelf labels need to be updated for contract compliance. 10) Maintains comprehensive knowledge of principles, policies and state and federal laws and regulations related to controlled substances. 11) Possesses advanced technical knowledge of all aspects of drug characteristics and nomenclature for procurement and stock maintenance. 12) Answers questions from pharmacy and non-pharmacy personnel regarding drug distribution and supply issues. 13) Coordinates with providers and patients on specialty medications and/or supply items to ensure timely delivery to patients and certify receipt for reconciliation of payment to specialty pharmacy. 14) Incumbent must maintain training requirements, national pharmacy technician certification and meet annual competencies required for the position. Work Schedule: Full-time Telework: If approved, will be on an ad-hoc basis 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 (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.). (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. 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]