Career Center

The facility, complexity level 3, has a small acute medicine, acute mental health, extensive long-term care, outpatient mental health rehabilitation, and a multisite ambulatory clinic program. The Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) functions in the ambulatory care section of the Pharmacy service line. 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: Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Noncitizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.) 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.) (2) Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the graduate is able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification, which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT). 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. NIOTE: ndividuals who have or have had multiple licenses and had any such license revoked for professional misconduct, professional incompetence or substandard care, or who surrendered such license after receiving written notice of potential termination of such license by the State for professional misconduct, professional incompetence, or substandard care, are not eligible for appointment to the position unless such revoked or surrendered license is fully restored (38 U.S.C. § 7402(f)). Effective November 30, 1999, this is a requirement for employment. This requirement does not apply to licensed pharmacists on VA rolls as of that date, provided they maintain continuous appointment and are not disqualified for employment by any subsequent revocations or voluntary surrenders of State license, registration or certification. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade level for candidates at the GS-13. Experience. Must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Perform 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. 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. Preferred Experience: PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY2 Pharmacy Practice Residency in primary care or geriatrics. References: June 7, 2012 VA HANDBOOK 5005/55 PART II APPENDIX G15 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: Work is performed in patient care areas, including veteran homes, locked neighborhoods, and in the Pharmacy, where there is a potential for exposure to communicable diseases. Such areas are NOT adequately heated, ventilated, or air-conditioned, and safety precautions are required. Both in the Inpatient and Outpatient Pharmacy work areas and neighborhoods are high-stress working environments, due to space shortages in the Pharmacy, and dealing with difficult Psychiatric Inpatients and Outpatients. ["Clinical Practice: Maintains clinical practice through provision of patient care during new patient and/or follow-up visits. Coordinates care for patients with other healthcare providers. Provides and coordinates medication management services for patients in designated clinic(s) according to broad scope of practice focused on chronic disease state management. This shall include: a. Initiating, discontinuing, and/or changing medications through the electronic medical record. b. Ordering labs and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy. c. Managing care across the continuum of the health care system. d. Referring patients to appropriate health care providers. e. Performing physical assessments as needed. f. Performing patient triage functions as needed. Documents all encounters in the patient's clinical record. Demonstrates competence in differentiating individual patient pharmaceutical care needs based on patient age from adult (18-64) through geriatric (65+). Renews and orders medications per Scope of Practice with semi-annual clinical care review. Evaluates orders for appropriateness and drug interactions, allergies and adverse reactions, and duplicate therapy. Provides appropriate patient consultation for all new prescriptions. Inquires about side effects and patient questions for renewed prescriptions. Evaluates patient's ability to understand instructions. Provides verbal and written instructions to promote patient medication adherence. Documents all elements of patient consultation. Clinical Education and Scholarly Activities: Serves as a preceptor and shares responsibility for training, guidance and evaluation of Ambulatory Care Students. Serves as a preceptor/trainer for visiting healthcare professionals or students who want to broaden their knowledge and skills and/or establish their own clinical practice in the designated practice area. Assumes an active role in staff development of peers and provides educational opportunities to nursing, medical staff and to other ancillary services. Completes all required Talent Management System (TMS) training on a timely basis. Presents at local, state, regional or national meetings. Collaborates with residents or other medical staff in process improvement or research, when appropriate. Administrative Support: Independently manages medication management services for all ambulatory patients in HBPC. Manages quality improvement programs for medication management services in HBPC and coordinates activities with the other Tomah medication management services. This may include participation in Medical Use Evaluations (MUE). Evaluates pharmacy related performance measures for a designated group of patients and initiates program changes to achieve measures. Serves as a resource between Pharmacy Service and all health care providers in their group. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday. 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Regular Telework Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

Return to Search Results