Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (Inpatient)

Full Job Description

The Inpatient Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) at VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS) functions at the highest level of clinical practice and works under a scope of practice as approved by the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff (ECMS).

The CPS functions to initiate, modify, discontinue, and monitor medication therapy and acts as a consultant for comprehensive medication therapy management services.

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: (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.) [TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION] (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).

[YOU MUST SUBMIT COPY OF FPGEC CERTIFICATION WITH THE APPLICATION PACKAGE] 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.

[YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF CURRENT LICENSE WITH THE APPLICATION PACKAGE]. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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 Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. 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: Completion of a PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency or 1 year work experience in an inpatient setting. References: VA Handbook 5005/55, Appendix G15.

VA Licensed Pharmacist Qualification Standard GS-660, dated June 7, 2012. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: The work requires standing, light carrying and lifting (under 15 pounds); walking, bending, reaching above the shoulder, and ability to distinguish basic colors.

The work also involves working around machinery with moving parts and working closely with others. Major Duties:

Sierra Nevada Healthcare System has an immediate opening for an Inpatient Clinical Pharmacy Specialist.

The inpatient pharmacy service provides pharmaceutical care services to our 120-bed hospital system that includes (Intensive Care Unit, OR/Recovery Room, Acute Care/ Medicine, Surgery, Long Term Care, Short Stay Rehab, Hospice, Inpatient Mental Health and the Emergency Department) with centralized operations for Unit Dose and Sterile Compounding.

The inpatient clinical pharmacy specialists provide comprehensive clinical and distributive pharmacy services to patients at the Palo Alto Acute Care Division, as well as remote order screening/verification and problem solving for the extended care patients.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Direct Patient Care Activities: Comprehensive medication management in accordance with their scope of practice including prescribing (initiating, adjusting, discontinuing drug therapy) and monitoring of anticoagulation, pharmacokinetic dosing of antimicrobials and other medications requiring renal/hepatic dose adjustments, parental nutrition, conversions between dosage forms (IV to PO, tablets/capsules to solutions, etc.), and other disease state management.

Clinical Activities: screening and verifying medication orders; making drug therapy recommendations; monitoring and assessing medication effects; documenting clinical activities; adverse drug reaction reporting, renal and hepatic screening, medication reconciliation, Code Blue participation and Code Stroke participation.

Education/Training Activities: providing education to physicians, medical residents, and nursing staff; providing education to patients and caregivers about medications and side effect management; providing training to pharmacy trainees (PGY2 and PGY1 pharmacy residents and pharmacy students).

Distributive Activities: checking inpatient and outpatient medication orders filled by pharmacy technicians; overseeing the technicians to ensure distributive duties are met in a timely manner; following up on missing doses; and assisting nursing, providers and patients as needed.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 1500-2330. May include Weekends and Holidays Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Title/Functional Statement #:Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (Inpatient)/PD09215F Financial Disclosure Report: Not required