Pharmacy technicians at this grade level are nationally certified by PTCB or ExCPT and can work autonomously on assigned duties, using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties. The employee will assist the pharmacist in providing optimal care and timely service in accordance with the mission, vision, and goals of the Puget Sound VA Healthcare System and Pharmacy.

Duties

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Pharmacy Technician: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Pharmacy-Technician-Career-Flyer.pdf General Interpret, fills, and prepares prescriptions with appropriate medications and or medical supplies for pharmacist verification. Receives, checks, rotates, and places in stock all items received from pharmacy vendors and identifies and reconciles any discrepancies to assure correct items have been received. Utilizes automated dispensing cabinets and dispensing equipment available to the pharmacy staff following all safety and QA procedures. Reports automation malfunctions timely to the supervisor as appropriate. 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 for final pharmacist verification and assigning appropriate beyond-use-date. Controlled Substances (These duties may be assigned in the absence of the controlled substance technician) Coordinates with Accountable Officer witness to receive controlled substances from pharmacy vendors. Interprets, fills, and readies prescriptions for pharmacist verification. Restocks controlled substances items in automated dispensing cabinets (i.e., Omnicell, ScriptPro) in pharmacy or throughout medical center. Sterile Product Compounding Manufactures uncomplicated and/or complicated parenteral admixtures to be delivered in the form of large volume, small volume, infusion syringe, elastomeric devices, or other as required. Interprets physician orders, selects, and measures ingredients, mixes ingredients in a safe and effective manner, inspects the final product for accuracy, suitability, and elegance, labels the product, maintains records of the manufacturing process, and supplies the product for pharmacist verification and delivery. Unit Dose Medication Management Inventories and replenishes emergency trays. Operates and maintains automated dispensing unit dose systems. Troubleshoots minor mechanical problems of all automated systems as they occur and coordinates resolution of more involved mechanical or software problems with Automation Technician, Supervisor, vendor help desk, ADPAC, etc. as appropriate. Automatic Replenishment/Ward Stock Inventories, assesses, and determines the need for floor stock. Fills medication and supply items for wards using Automatic Replenishment reports. Performs and documents inspection of assigned hospital areas for medication storage. Removes soon-to-expire and deteriorated drugs from the automated dispensing stations, stocks shelves, and the unit dose automated dispensing systems. Prescription Processing and Dispensing a Prescription Assembly Assembles prescriptions properly with the correct drug, strength, quantity, auxiliary labels, and prescription labels for window dispensing and mail delivery. Supports automation by manually completing prescriptions not processed through the automation dispensing machine. Window Pick-Up Verifies the patient's identification. Verifies that the patient receives the correct prescriptions by using VA and commercial software (i.e., VISTA, ScriptPro, and barcode scanning) Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 7AM - 3:30PM, some weekends and holidays Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing 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. 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: Pharmacy Technician, GS-07. Experience: Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower 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: PTCB as a CPhT. OR NHA as a ExCPT. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. 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. Preferred Experience: Two years of pharmacy technician experience preferred in a retail and/or medical center setting. PTCB certification is required at this grade level and above. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/159 PART II APPENDIX G28 G28-1 APPENDIX G28. PHARMACY TECHNICIAN QUALIFICATION STANDARD The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-07. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-07. Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds; Moderate carrying, 15-44 pounds; Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Standing (6 hours); Repeated Bending (2 hours); Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Mental/Emotional Stability; Environmental Factors: Constant noise; Working closely with others; Working alone; Extensive keyboard/mouse use;

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 Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: Delilah Black
• Phone: 215-823-5800 X206491
• Email: [email protected]