Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - Pain Management

Full Job Description

Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner (CPP) - Pain Management The CPP provider delivers evidence-based comprehensive medication management (CMM) through direct patient care and as part of the interdisciplinary team providing Pain Management.

The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

All requirements must be met by the close date of this announcement, 02/17/2026.

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).

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, GS-12.

The GS-12 requirements include: 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.

AND Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1.

Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. 2. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area. 3.

Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise. 4.

Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy. 5.

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: 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. Grandfathering Provision.

All licensed pharmacists employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Employees grandfathered into the GS-660 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.

(2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.

Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration, that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

(3) If a licensed pharmacist who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

Major Duties:

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws Duties include, but are not limited to: Clinical - Direct Patient Care Activities: 1) Functions as an advanced practice provider for CMM services to achieve defined outcomes through direct interactions with patients and providers in assigned care area(s).

2) Functions as part of the interdisciplinary team to provide CMM for pain management which may include, but is not limited to: a.

Prescribes, monitors and adjusts medications related to pain management b. Obtains pertinent medical history and obtains accurate pain medication related history from patient and via chart review c.

Orders, monitors, and interprets toxicology screens and other needed labs; implements follow-up on treatment actions as supported by lab interpretations d.

Performs rating scales on pain control, symptoms and functional status e. Queries and documents PDMP findings f. Provides overdose education and prescribes naloxone when needed g.

Provides patient and/or caregiver instructions and education h. Uses available population health tools to identify and address risk mitigation needs focused on safe pain care i.

Performs suicide risk assessment j. Screens for substance use disorders when indicated, performs brief interventions when indicated, including addressing aberrant behaviors k.

Ensures referral of complex or unstable patients to higher level care, when needed l.

Address other care needs and refers patients to other services for other needed care, as deemed appropriate (e.g., Mental Health, PACT, Physical Therapy, Yoga, etc.) m.

Communicates with team for next steps and coordination of care, when necessary 3) Performs limited external physical assessment and performs medication reconciliation in alignment with established policies or procedures 4) In addition to pain management, provides CMM for complex patients with chronic diseases including, but not limited to, alcohol misuse/use disorder and tobacco misuse/use disorder; orders and interprets labs or other needed tests pertinent to CMM and makes needed referrals.

May also treat other co-morbid conditions (in alignment with scope of practice).

5) Determines if a referral to a physician is necessary when disease progression occurs, or adverse drug events require a higher level of treatment intervention 6) Accepts urgent or same day patient visits including, but not limited to, patient medication review for polypharmacy, recent hospital or emergency department discharges, and co-managed care patients.

7) Follows up via face-to-face, telehealth, eConsult, telephone, secure messaging and other modalities to provide patient care Clinical - Indirect Patient Care Activities: 1) Reviews patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness, drug selection, dosing, contraindications, side effects, potential drug interactions, and therapeutic outcomes as required.

Communicates findings with prescribers and provides appropriate recommendations for alternatives to current treatment plans as needed 2) Monitors and reports drug errors, adverse drug reactions, allergies, and patient compliance issues.

Documents findings per facility procedures and in accordance with the VAADERS Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) reporting program 3) Reviews relevant population management dashboards to identify patients who may benefit from engagement in care for pain management and/or risk mitigation 4) Applies knowledge to interpret laboratory values in the evaluation of patient care, recognizes significant abnormalities, and makes dose adjustments or recommendations based on objective laboratory findings 5) Provides input and recommendations as the pain medication expert on the interdisciplinary pain management team during routine patient care planning or targeted complex or high-risk reviews 6) Assists the Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) committee with medication use evaluations and other safety initiatives, as needed 7) Documents clinical interventions and patient care encounters in the electronic health record in a timely and professional manner as appropriate.

8) Works with providers to ensure compliance with national, VISN, and local initiatives (e.g., OSI) Work Schedule: Full-time; Monday-Friday, 8:00-4:30 Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

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