The Inpatient Acute Care Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner is a licensed pharmacist with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and ideally an American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists accredited residency or equivalent experience. The incumbent is responsible for providing pharmaceutical care to patients in the acute care setting. The incumbent strives to consistently provide pharmaceutical care to patients and optimizes patient care outcomes and functions at the highest level of clinical practice.

Duties

This positions duties includes but is not limited to the following: Initiating, modifying, extending, or discontinuing medication therapy, ordering labs and other tests to help determine efficacy or toxicity of medications, designing, implementing, assessing, monitoring, and documenting therapeutic plans. Reviews patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness, medication selection, dosing, contraindications, side effects, potential medication interactions, and therapeutic outcomes as required. Communicates findings with prescribers and other clinical staff and provides appropriate alternatives to current treatment plans as needed. Applies knowledge and expertise in the principles of clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and makes dose adjustment recommendations based on objective laboratory findings. Works collaboratively with the inpatient acute care teams to manage the medication therapies of selected patients which includes but is not limited to oral anticoagulation, vancomycin and aminoglycoside dosing, tobacco cessation, and renal dosing of medications. Clinical activities include team rounding and group education taking medical histories, evaluations, outlining and executing, and monitoring pharmacotherapeutic treatment plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic, and most economical medication treatments. Documents clinical interventions and therapeutic plans accurately in electronic medical record in a timely and professional manner as appropriate. Reviews and evaluates requests for prior authorization and restricted medications for appropriateness and compliance with established criteria where applicable, including recommending therapeutic substitutions. Serves as an effective preceptor, directing and supervising pharmacy residents and students as assigned. Assists in planning and implementing of Pharmacy quality assurance activities. Assists in designing and completing research studies involving clinical pharmacist functions, quality assurance, medication use evaluations, or pharmacotherapy. Work Schedule: Irregular hours and rotating days with regular weekend rotations. Telework: Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. 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. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d) Licensure. Full, current and unrestricted license to practice pharmacy in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or the District of Columbia. The pharmacist must maintain current registration if this is a requirement for maintaining full, current, and unrestricted licensure. A pharmacist who has, or has ever had, any license(s) revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16. Education (1) Graduate of an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. Verification of approved degree programs may be obtained from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, Illinois 60602-5109; phone: (312) 664-3575, or through their Web site at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/. (NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.) 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: GS-13, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. The clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) functions at the highest level of clinical practice, works independently under their scope of practice as defined by the individual medical center to directly care for patients. A CPS plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider who functions to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: designing, implementing, assessing, monitoring and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic and most economical medication treatments; helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams in assigned areas; performing physical assessments; and ordering laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs: a. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. b. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area. c. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise. d. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy. e. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. Assignments. Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G15. Licensed Pharmacist Qualification Standard, GS-660.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (3 hours); Standing (4 hours); Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Depth perception; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Hearing (aid permitted).

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 Tucson VA Medical Center 3601 South Sixth Avenue Tucson, AZ 85723 US
• Name: Seth Hickman
• Phone: (858) 552-8585 X7394
• Email: [email protected]