Clinical Pharmacist Specialist

Full Job Description

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans.

How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

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).

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..

Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. English Language Proficiency.

Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).

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 (a) Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice.

Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff.

Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security.

Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. (b) 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: Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.

Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.

Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.

Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.

Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

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-13.

Physical Requirements: Pre-Employment physical is required, See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 Major Duties:

Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Clinical Practice: Functions independently under an individual scope of practice as defined by the health care system for chronic disease states with comprehensive medication management to provide pharmaceutical care to patients.

This includes but is not limited to the design, implementation, and monitoring of therapeutic drug plans to achieve positive, definite outcomes through direct interactions with patients and providers in assigned areas.

Obtains medication histories from patients and summarizes significant findings in the medical record.

Reviews patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness, drug selection, dosing, contraindications, side effects, potential drug interactions, and therapeutic outcomes as required and communicates findings with other relevant staff when applicable.

Monitors for and reports drug errors, adverse drug reactions, allergies, and medication adherence issues. Documents findings per facility procedures.

Applies knowledge of normal laboratory values in the evaluation of patient care; recognizes and takes necessary and appropriate action on significant abnormalities.

Has expertise in the principles of clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and is knowledgeable and able to make dose adjustments and/or recommendations based on objective laboratory findings.

Performs patient care activities in working directly or indirectly with the health care team and patient, encompassing a variety of modalities and professional responsibilities.

Reviews and evaluates requests for non-formulary and restricted drugs for appropriateness and compliance with established criteria where applicable.

Reviews literature routinely to provide an evaluation of efficacy, safety, and cost- effectiveness for routine patient care and projects as assigned.

Maintains a current knowledge of therapeutics and disease management. Assists with Medication Use Evaluations (MUE) and other Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee related activities.

Documents clinical interventions in a timely and professional manner as appropriate.

Promotes and monitors compliance for established drug therapy policies in accordance with VHA/DoD guidance or latest evidence-based practice.

Works with providers to ensure compliance with national, VISN, and local initiatives.

Uses appropriate references to research drug information and serves as an expert on drug usage, interactions, over-dosages, and compliance to medical staff, nursing staff, technicians and students.

Provides timely and accurate responses to drug information inquiries from all customers. Serves on medical center and/or VISN committees as requested. Other duties as assigned.

Education and Research: Maintains a general knowledge of VHA, DEA and Joint Commission regulations.

Is responsible for maintaining and improving professional competency by keeping current with information on new medications, therapies, and innovations in Pharmacy practice.

The incumbent continually applies up-to-date drug information and program techniques in their daily practice.

Is responsible for maintaining all continuing education required for licensure, as well as all competency and training specific to area of practice.

Responsible for keeping abreast of changes within Pharmacy Service (i.e., formulary additions and deletions, interdepartmental memoranda, relevant station memoranda, policies and procedures).

Participates in the training and in-servicing of Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, Pharmacy Students/Residents, and other medical center personnel as required.

Includes development of educational material. Effectively instructs patients and family members in the appropriate use of medications and medical devices.

Is able to adjust communication and tracking methods based on age and developmental considerations. Is able to accurately assess and document patient comprehension.

When needed, is able to refer patients to educational programs provided at the medical center by multidisciplinary teams.

Quality Assurance and Improvement: Assists with the QA program within Pharmacy Service as it relates to clinical practice. Is responsible for maintaining QA data for their clinical practice focus.

Is an active participant in all facets of the PPE program as designated by Associate Chief, Clinical Pharmacy Programs or designee.

Participates in interdisciplinary care teams and committees to improve the quality of patient care.

Participates in the MUE process through proactive identification of problem areas, criteria development, analysis of findings, and recommendation of follow up actions (e.g.

education) that are deemed necessary. Documents adverse drug events in electronic medical record and assists with updating VA Adverse Drug Event Reporting System (VA ADERS).

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.