This position is located in the Newington Outpatient Pharmacy. Pharmacy technicians prepare medications by counting, pouring, weighing, measuring, and mixing or compounding medications. The pharmacy technician may also prepare medications for distribution to clinics and outpatients for pickup and mailing. The pharmacy technician works in collaboration with other pharmacy technicians and responds to requests of pharmacists, call centers, patients and supervisory staff.

Duties

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws Lead Pharmacy Technician (Newington Outpatient) GS-0661-08 Under the supervision of a Pharmacist, or Supervisory Pharmacy Technician, pharmacy technicians perform routine pharmacy functions including medication preparation, inventory accountability and medication distribution. Pharmacy technicians prepare prescriptions by counting, pouring, weighing, measuring, and mixing the medication if necessary. Pharmacy technicians receive and set up stock, and take inventory of medications. Pharmacy technicians prepare medications for outpatients in various settings, including non-sterile product preparation. Pharmacy technicians are able to read and understand medication profiles, refill prescriptions, track orders and triage patient medication inquires appropriately. Lead pharmacy technicians lead three GS-07 or more pharmacy technicians/employees/staff members, provide direction for daily operations and assume responsibility for integrating and monitoring standard pharmacy policies to maintain continuous workflow and quality within the service. Lead pharmacy technicians must do a combination of at least three of the following duties: prepare work schedules and assign tasks to ensure timely completion of duties; ensure pharmacy resources are in optimal working condition and address workflow needs; provide guidance and support of the work unit in supervisory absence; train personnel (including students) in methods, procedures and use of equipment and instruments specific to the assigned area; provide input to supervisors on performance and training needs of employees; adjust work assignments due to absences, emergencies or changes in priorities; resolve simple informal complaints of employees and patients, refer more difficult problems to the supervisor; or recommend approval and/or disapproval of leave requests. Duties include but are not limited to the following description: Responsible for organizing and assisting the pharmacy technician team to ensure assigned tasks are timely and accurately completed for their program area and makes staffing adjustments as needed to meet organizational goals. Assists supervisor in creation of staffing work schedules. Knowledgeable in day-to-day maintenance and operation of pharmacy area equipment and automation. Promote harmonious relationships within the work environment and support the needs of the team and customer. Listens to employee feedback and other customers in a helpful and timely fashion. Notifies supervisor when appropriate. Conducts technician meetings to assure proper updates of departmental and hospital communications. Assists in training and orientating new and existing pharmacy technicians and students on policies and procedures. Develops training schedules and assists in maintaining documentation for all pharmacy technicians and students. Effectively evaluates pharmacy activities to assist management to obtain short- and long-range objectives and goals. Ensures compliance of ward inspection program for both internal and external medication storage areas. Works with procurement team to help manage the reverse distribution process. Ability to perform the following procurement duties as required for occasional backup to meet operational goals. Maintains training, certification and competency for each duty and communicates directly with the Procurement Technician and Technician Supervisor to coordinate prior to days of coverage: Ordering officer for the purpose of ordering against the national pharmacy prime vendor (PPV) contract. Utilizes the Government purchase card program while adhering to VA financial policies. Holds active certificates for electronic ordering of narcotics by enrolling in the DEA CSOS program. Ability to perform all major technician duties up to and including the GS-0661-07 Outpatient Technician assignments as related to prescription assembly, basic inventory, customer service, compounding, ward stock, controlled substances, medication preparation and distribution. Knowledgeable and proficient in all areas related to other GS-0661-08 duties as related to the outpatient pharmacy; for example controlled substance management, pharmacy customer service, automated dispensing equipment maintenance, inventory/procurement and reverse distribution matters. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Primarily Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm, 8:30am-5:00pm per needs of the facility. Telework: Ad-Hoc Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: F06760 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. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) 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). 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: Lead Pharmacy Technician (Newington Outpatient) GS-0661-08 Experience: Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and demonstrate the KSAs below. Certification: For positions above the full performance level (GS-06), 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 the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated: 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. Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures. Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy. Assignment: Lead pharmacy technicians perform duties independently, which consist of significant scope and complexity and will assist with technician oversight. Lead pharmacy technicians lead three GS-07 or more pharmacy technicians/employees/staff members, provide direction for daily operations and assume responsibility for integrating and monitoring standard pharmacy policies to maintain continuous workflow and quality within the service. Lead pharmacy technicians must do a combination of at least three of the following duties: prepare work schedules and assign tasks to ensure timely completion of duties; ensure pharmacy resources are in optimal working condition and address workflow needs; provide guidance and support of the work unit in supervisory absence; train personnel (including students) in methods, procedures and use of equipment and instruments specific to the assigned area; provide input to supervisor on performance and training needs of employees; adjust work assignments due to absences, emergencies or changes in priorities; resolve simple informal complaints of employees and patients, refer more difficult problems to the supervisor; or recommend approval and/or disapproval of leave requests. The lead technician will be able to perform all pharmacy technician duties as it relates to the outpatient pharmacy. Furthermore, in addition to leading GS-07 technicians and students, they will have knowledge, skills and abilities to cover higher level functions as applicable to the particular outpatient pharmacy setting- this can include filling controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining compliance with Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulations, taking medication histories and counseling patients, triaging customer service issues/requests from call centers, managing workflow, basic inventory procurement processes, and training and orienting staff in the pharmacy. Preferred Experience: VA Outpatient Pharmacy experience. References: See VA Handbook 5005/159 Part II Appendix G28. Physical Requirements: Principal duties of this position require repetitive use of hands and fingers (e.g., preparing prescriptions, use of a computer keyboard, etc.). May require lifting and carrying light loads (up to 44lbs.), including boxes, equipment, medical supplies, stock boxes etc.; stooping or kneeling (e.g., to pick up items from the floor, remove and replace items on lower shelves, and to file documents in lower file drawers, etc.); sitting, walking, or standing for long periods of time (4-8 hours). Ability to operate automation. Normal ranges of hearing and vision are required to perform work and communicate effectively. An ability to perform tasks.

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 West Haven VA Medical Center 950 Campbell Avenue West Haven, CT 06516 US
• Name: Heather Volpe
• Email: [email protected]