This position is located within the Veterans Affairs Loma Linda Health Care System Pharmacy. The Compound Sterile Product (CPS) Oncology Pharmacy Technician is a highly specialized technician, who will perform a variety of complex functions in the preparation of chemotherapeutic agents. Most duties will be performed in the oncology IV sterile compounding suite of pharmacy.

Duties

Duties may include but not limited to: Receives, reviews, and prepares physician order for cytotoxic agents and pre medication. Performs accurate product identification labeling dosage calculation, and compounding of agents by utilizing package literature, written procedural guidelines and application of specialized knowledge. Maintains annual competencies to compound hazardous and non-hazardous IV sterile preparations according to USP and standards. Follows proper aseptic preparation techniques when compounding hazardous and non-hazardous medications. Reviews anticipated inventory needs and notifies procurement technician in a timely manner of products required. Assists in maintaining all required records related to sterile compounding. Receives hazardous IV chemotherapy inventory stock according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines placing in proper storage areas, rotating stock on shelves, and removing/replacing outdated items. Maintains Chemo/IV room medication inventory, compounding supplies and cleaning product to ensure availability and minimize waste. Conducts daily, weekly, and monthly IV room cleaning to include check for soon to expire medications Manufactures uncomplicated and/or complicated parenteral admixtures to be delivered in the form of large volume, small volume, infusion syringe or other as required. Prepares sterile ophthalmic preparations and other complex sterile pharmaceuticals such as total parenteral alimentations and cardioplegia solutions. Assists in the central IV sterile suite as needed. Participates in glove fingertip and media fill testing, maintain competences passing didactic practical skill assessment initially and annually thereafter. Assists in airborne particulate and microbial testing and surface testing to ensure cleaning schedules are met. Ensures full compliance with all regulatory requirements (VHA, Joint Commission, USP , EPA, OSHA, NIOSH, and FDA). Assists in maintains a training/education manual for the focus area assigned. Provides training to new or existing staff so that these competencies are maintained. Performs all the duties of lower grade technicians, if required. Assists with inventory management and ordering of medications. 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 total quality improvement activities by participating in medical center and service process assessment and action teams and continually seeks to improve services. Monitors refrigerator temperature daily in pharmacy assigned area. Work Schedule: Varies Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. Education and/or Experience Combination: 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). 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for appointment in paragraph 5, VA HR staff must use the following criteria to determine the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. Pharmacy Technician, GS-08. Applicants must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and demonstrate the KSAs below. 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: 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 have a higher level of responsibility for specialized areas of pharmacy and are expected to independently carry out assigned tasks of considerable difficulty. Pharmacy technicians at this grade level may be appointed to one of the following assignments: Pharmacy Technician. Pharmacy technicians in this assignment specialize in areas such as sterile compounding, oncology, controlled substances, medication history review, clinical specialist (anticoagulation, pain, infectious diseases), clinical informatics, automation, immunizations and any other specialized area in the advancement of the profession. The pharmacy technician will serve as a subject matter expert and key resource in the day-to-day technician duties of the specialized area. The technician will be performing assignments such as compounding sterile products, filling controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining compliance with Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulations, taking medication histories and counseling patients, managing automation, managing workflow and training and orienting staff in the specialized area. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.

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 Jerry L Pettis Memorial Veterans Hospital 11201 Benton Street Loma Linda, CA 92357 US
• Name: Michelle Covert
• Phone: (385) 201-7032
• Email: [email protected]