Clinical Pharmacist

Description:

The primary functions include the timely and accurate preparation and dispensing of medications to both inpatients and outpatients. Must exercise professional judgment in matters of appropriate dosing and therapeutic regimes. Rotates through different areas of Pharmacy Service: Outpatient, Inpatient (IV Admixture and Unit dose) and Clinical areas. The primary goal is facilitation of appropriate, safe, and cost effective drug therapy for our patients.

Requirements:

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.

Education.

• 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.)
• 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).

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.

GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist

• Experience or Education . In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must meet one of the following:
  • 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11), or
  • Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) . Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  • (1) Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice.
  • (2) Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff.
  • (3) Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security.
  • (4) Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

Preferred Experience:

• Inpatient & Outpatient pharmacy experience

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ .

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019