Pharmacy Technician Inpatient/Outpatient to areas of the Washington, DC VA Medical Center. Functions including part-time filling, preparation and dispensing of prescriptions, sterile compounding preparation, management of automated dispensing equipment (ADE), inventory management and multiple types of customer contact services, specialize in controlled substance management, inventory/ budgeting/purchasing, automation, informatics, quality management, research, clinical and call center.

Duties

FUNCTIONS: General Accurately interpret, fills, and prepares prescriptions with appropriate medications and or medical supplies for pharmacist verification. Maintains work areas in a clean and orderly condition by assuring that all stock and equipment are in assigned places and all shelves and counters are free of dust and debris in order to create optional work areas. Assures drugs and supplies are appropriately stored and secured according to USP and VA guidelines, including the storage of high-risk, look a-like sound a­ like, hazardous, controlled substances, corrosive chemical, flammable liquids, and refrigerated items. Receives, checks, rotates, and places in stock all items received from pharmacy procurement section and identifies and reconciles any discrepancies to assure correct items have been received. Utilizes automation dispensing equipment available to the pharmacy staff following all safety and QA procedures. Reports automation malfunctions timely the supervisor as appropriate Records expiration dates in the automatic prescription dispensing system upon receipt. Perform monthly inspections to assigned areas to ensure proper storage of medications and soon to expired drugs are removed. Completes inspection reports in compliance with regulatory requirements. 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. Answers questions from pharmacy and non-pharmacy personnel regarding drug distribution. Identifies basic therapeutic problems, such as duplicate therapy with drugs in the same class and alerts the pharmacist to the possible need for clinical intervention. Assists in training and orientation of new staff technicians, interns, and students. Assumes an active role in the overall pharmacy-training program consisting of students, externs, interns, residents, and professional and non-professional staff members. Inpatient Pharmacy Activities: Sterile Product Compounding These functions will be supported assisting in or the absence of the sterile compounding technician (i.e., after hours, weekends, and leave). Follow USP 797/800 Guidelines for the compounding of all sterile preparations, including ophthalmic, cardioplegic, TPN, hazardous, large & small volume IV solutions, PCAs, etc. Manufactures uncomplicated and/or complicated parenteral admixtures to be delivered in the form of large volume, small volume, infusion syringe or other as required. Correctly interprets physician orders, selects, and measures appropriate 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 Performs review of medications prepared by another pharmacy employee to be dispensed to hospital areas. Inventories and replenishes emergency trays. Outpatient Pharmacy Activities Prescription Assembly: Assembles prescriptions properly with the correct drug, strength, quantity, auxiliary labels, and prescription labels. for window dispensing and mail delivery Assures that the correct medication is filled by using bar code scanning on stock bottles. Supports automation by manually completing prescriptions not processed through the automation dispensing machine. Assures the timely completion of all prescriptions. Window Pick-Up: Verifies the patient's identification following the Medical Center's policies (i.e., double patient identifiers); Verifies that the patient receives the correct prescriptions by using VA software (i.e., VISTA and barcode scanning) Work Schedule: 7:30 am - 4:00 pm, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, 11:30 pm - 8:00 am; Schedule will vary with Service needs Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is Not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

Requirements

Qualifications

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: (1) None required. (2) 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 (GS 06), the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: (1) Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR (2) 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). Grade Determinations: Pharmacy Technician, GS-06: (1) Education or Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower level. (2) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:(a) Knowledge of Federal and state laws related to pharmacy practice.(b) Knowledge of preparation, storage and distribution of medication products including those requiring special handling and documentation.(c) Ability to use pharmacy information systems or operate pharmacy dispensing equipment.(d) Knowledge of basic inventory procedures.(e) Ability to communicate with patients and staff and direct questions to appropriate personnel. (3) Assignments: Pharmacy technicians at the full performance level may fill orders, dispense/deliver medications using automated systems or provide technical customer service to Veterans related to prescription needs. Duties will include delivery of medications to floors/patients, filling medications for the pharmacist to review, checking for expired medications, answering phones with appropriate disposition, preparing sterile products (when applicable) and assisting with basic inventory management such as putting up stock and identifying when medications need to be ordered. Pharmacy Technician, GS-07: (1) Experience: Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (2) 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:(a) PTCB as a CPhT.OR(b) NHA as a ExCPT. (3) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(a) Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.(b) Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.(c) Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.(d) Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.(e) Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.(f) Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases. (4) 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: In accordance with VA Handbook 5005/15, Part II, Appendix G28- Pharmacy Technician Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity; potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations or operative/invasive procedures. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as TB screening, as a condition of employment. Lifting/carrying up to 44 lbs.; Standing; Sitting; Walking; Kneeling; Bending/Stooping; Twisting; Pushing/pulling, Both legs required; Simple grasping; Use of fingers, Both hands required; Fine manipulation (includes keyboarding); Reaching above shoulders; Near vision correctable at 1316" to Jaeger 1 to 4, Far vision correction in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other eye; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Ability to distinguish shades of colors; Hearing whispered voice (with or without aid); Emotional/mental stability; Walking on slippery or uneven walking surfaces; Working with hands in water; Working closely with others; and Protracted or irregular hours of work.

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 Washington VA Medical Center 50 Irving Street, Northwest Washington, DC 20422 US
• Name: Karen Simmons
• Phone: 202-297-8951
• Email: [email protected]