Clinical Pharmacy Specialist-Education Debt Reduction Program-Authorized

Full Job Description

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program.

You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment.

Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application.

Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

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.

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 InternetBased Test (TOEFL iBT).

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.

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: 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.

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.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation and would generally not require a pre-placement examination. Major Duties:

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) will be assigned to Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) in the primary care clinics.

Teams are located in the main facility and associated community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs).

The CPS can be consulted by their team(s) for comprehensive medication management of complex patients with chronic diseases commonly seen in the primary care setting.

Alternatively, identification of patients via population based metrics, patient self-referral, outpatient pharmacy services, or other appropriate modalities can also facilitate the enrollment of a patient into the CPS clinic.

The clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) functions at the highest level of clinical practice, works independently under their individual scope of practice to directly care for patients.

A CPS functions as a member of their assigned team(s) and serves as an advanced practice provider to initiate/prescribe, 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.

The CPS promotes and manages drug therapy based on current clinical knowledge that is consistent with policies established at the national, VISN, and local levels.

They function as part of the PACT and is most effective when assigned to a panel of patients, to support continuity of care.

Patients should know their clinical pharmacist and be able to call the pharmacist, or alternate for coverage, when they have questions about their medications.

Clinical Pharmacy Specialists are employees of their medical center's Pharmacy Service, to ensure they receive all professional guidance, policy and communications, along with department missions and goals, especially regarding the VA National Formulary, VISN, and local medical center Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee objectives for formulary management activities and patient safety.

Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:45pm Telework: AD-HOC (Employees who telework on an occasional, episodic, or short-term basis, and have completed required telework training and telework agreement.) (Portion of day acceptable) Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Contact: VISN17EDRP2@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized