This position functions within the Pharmacy under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. Pharmacy technician is assigned to any area of the pharmacy including expanded distributive function assignments and higher complexity assignments. Pharmacy Technician supports the mission of the VA Medical Center to assure safe, effective, and medically necessary use of medications by Veterans by performing packaging, manipulative, repetitive, and other non-discretionary tasks.

Duties

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 Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties: Provides telephone and consult triage and patient follow-up Accurately completes Call Center consults Prioritizes operational and assigned clinical functions Provides patient education Performs duties as a Team Leader Applies safe handling precautions Assists in cross training of peer technicians, residents, volunteers and work-study students Supports and ensures that department and medical center policies, procedures, guidelines, government regulations, and Professional/Technical Standards are maintained at all-times First line communication between the service and patient, nurse and/or medical staff to service patients' needs Specialty Pharmacy Automation Resolves problems and troubleshoots Coordinates aspect of outpatient pharmacy drug distribution activities Adds new medications and deletes obsolete medications Ensures that equipment is cleaned and maintained Works with automation vendors Inventory Management Knowledge of polices and procedures for inventory management Assists in the daily management of inventory Reviews medication orders that have not been picked up and discusses disposition Reviews medications and supplies returned from units and clinics for restock or destruction Process and reconciles B-9 invoices Replenishes emergency crash cart Delivers prepared crash cart Controlled Substances Backup for the Narcotic Technician duties Conducts regular scheduled inventories Resolves problems and troubleshoots outpatient pharmacy automation issues in the controlled substance vault Processing Prescriptions Enters computerized prescriptions or refill requests Prepares prescriptions for final check by a pharmacist Verifies the identification of the patient prior to releasing the medications Prepares packages of completed prescriptions Compounding Aseptic technique for routine sterile products Follows protocol for personal protective equipment and hand hygiene Inpatient Medication Management System Prepares inpatient unit dose orders Collects drug use evaluation data Operates and maintains pharmacy equipment Compounds and/or reconstitutes oral or external medications Answers questions from pharmacy and non-pharmacy personnel regarding drug distribution Maintains a training/education manual for the focus area assigned Notices any unusual requests for drugs and supplies and discusses Performs ward inspections of patient care areas Conducts inspections of code carts and replenishes Assists with inventory management and ordering of medicines Ensures that bulk discharge medications used by inpatients are properly labeled Intravenous Therapy Prepares intravenous admixtures, excluding chemotherapy Uses either standard protocols or judgment to determine an accurate expiration date Anticoagulation Provides support for clinical operations of the Anticoagulation Clinic and its clinical pharmacists Prepares anticoagulation work schedule for the day Clinical assessments Initiates an electronic progress note Reviews medication changes Routinely monitors laboratory data Evaluates INR stability, assesses etiology of INR's out of range Completes electronic progress notes, scheduling appointments, completing consults, and documenting data Communicates any changes in medications/diet, any evident reason for changes in INR value, and any abnormal laboratory Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am - 4:40pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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) 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 Functional Statement #: 000000 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. 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). 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). 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-7 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/159 Part II Appendix G28 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7. Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15lbs), walking, standing, both eyes required, ability to distinguish basic colors, and hearing (aid may be permitted). Environmental factors are working closely with others and working alone.

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 Mann-Grandstaff Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 4815 North Assembly Street Spokane, WA 99205 US
• Name: Rebecca Hanson
• Phone: 509-434-7320
• Email: [email protected]