Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - Outpatient

Full Job Description

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) is a recognized Associated Healthcare Provider (AHP) who provides medication management services within Primary Care (PACT) at the Veteran Affairs Central Iowa Healthcare System (VACIHCS), under an approved scope of practice.

This position would work primarily out of our South Des Moines location. The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series.

For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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.

NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.

Foreign Education: 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.

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

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, GS-12.

The GS-12 requirements include: 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.

AND Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): 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 PGY1 residency with a focus on ambulatory care medication management or experience in PACT medication management under a scope of practice.

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: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position.

Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. Major Duties:

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws Duties include, but are not limited to: A CPS will be able to perform all the primary functions of a Clinical Pharmacist (CP) in addition to functions specific to a CPS and according to their approved individual scope of practice.

a.

Primary functions of a CPS while utilizing a Scope of Practice: The CPS will have an approved Scope of Practice appropriate to their practice area, as endorsed by the Chief of Pharmacy and issued by the facility through Credentialing and Privileging.

The CPS will be responsible for maintaining this scope of practice and the expectations as outlined in the facility Medical Staff Bylaws for AHP. i.

Develops, implements, assesses, monitors, and documents therapeutic plans, balancing the most effective, safe and economical treatment. ii.

Utilizes information obtained from the patient and from objective measurements/labs to guide appropriate therapy decisions. iii.

Performs limited physical assessments as appropriate to determine indicated therapy as well as assess the response to therapy. iv.

Takes independent or collaborative (as appropriate) action for drug-induced issues. v.

Reviews patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness, drug selection, dosing, contraindications, side effects, potential drug interactions, and therapeutic outcomes as required. vi.

Works collaboratively with care team(s) to provide pharmaceutical care to selected patients as outlined by best evidence, Veteran Health Administration and VACIHCS Clinical practice Guidelines.

Clinical activities include histories; evaluations; outlining, executing, and monitoring pharmacotherapeutic treatment plans; utilizing the most effective, least toxic, and most economical medication treatments as required.

vii.

Prescriptive authority: The CPS has prescriptive authority for non-controlled substance medication therapy, labs and other tests, consults, non-medication therapies, and referrals including initiation, modification, and discontinuation as outlined in their individual scope of practice.

viii. The incumbent may request prescriptive authority for controlled substance medications in accordance with the current state regulations of their state of licensure.

In the event the state does not support pharmacist prescription of controlled substance medications, the incumbent will work collaboratively with a provider with prescriptive authority for controlled substance medications to provide therapy recommendations but will not be the prescriber of any controlled substance medications.

ix.

Participates in the medication reconciliation process, in accordance with facility processes: Pharmacists providing care under a Scope of Practice will complete a medication reconciliation including updating the medication profile to reflect an accurate, active list of VA and non-VA medications.

This may include adding non-VA medications or discontinuing duplicate medications or those the patient is not taking.

The CPS will follow current facility medication reconciliation policies and procedures. b. Functions of a CP while not utilizing a Scope of Practice: i.

Assures the safe and appropriate use of medications and be an advocate of rational drug therapy. ii. Participates in all tasks related to medication preparation and dispensing. iii.

Provides appropriate selection of drug therapy based upon the pharmaceutical principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; monitoring for efficacy, side effects and clinical outcome; and advises prescribers as appropriate.

iv. Provides patient-specific therapeutic drug monitoring and communicates relevant findings and/or recommendations to other health care providers in charge of the patient both orally and in writing.

Monitoring will include prospective and retrospective review and intervention in: a) Therapeutic appropriateness of a patient's drug regimen b) Therapeutic duplication in the patient's drug regimen c) Appropriateness of the route and method of administration d) Degree of patient compliance with the prescribed drug regimen e) Drug-drug, drug-food, drug-laboratory, or drug- disease interactions f) Allergies g) Clinical and pharmacokinetic laboratory data to evaluate the efficacy of drug therapy and to anticipate side effects, toxicity, or adverse effects h) Physical signs and clinical symptoms relevant to the patient's drug therapy v.

Provides medication counseling to patients. vi. Conducts comprehensive appraisals of patient's health status by completing medication histories including patient interviews.

Work Schedule: Full-time; 0730-1600 Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized