Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

Summary This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval - award amount (up to $200 -000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Qualifications

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.

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 Internet- Based Test (TOEFL iBT)

License: 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)

IN ADDITION TO THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING: GS 12 Experience or Education: In addition to the basic requirements - candidates must meet one of the following:1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS 11 - OR Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program

The candidate must demonstrate the experience or education above as well as the following KSAs: 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

GS 13 Experience: In addition to the GS-12 requirements - candidates must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level

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

The candidate must demonstrate the experience above as well as 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

Preferred experience: Have 2 years of experience working as a clinical pharmacy specialist - with 1 year specializing in women's health

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/

Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting (14-44 lbs.) reaching above shoulder moderate carrying (15-44 lbs.) use of fingers walking (3 hours per day) standing (up to 8 hours per day) both legs required ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously near vision correctable at 13\" to 16\" far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other ability to distinguish basic colors hearing aid permitted.

Duties

This Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (Women's Health) position is in the Pharmacy Department at the VA Providence Healthcare System - located at the Providence RI location

This position is Full Time at 40 hours per week and functions within Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT)

The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist serves as a provider with prescribing privileges as outlined in the individual's Scope of Practice to perform Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM) in the primary care setting to women's health specific teams and general PACT teams

The women's health position provides specialized pharmacotherapy for the female veteran population - and serves as a subject matter expert for medication use within that specific population

Duties include - but are not limited to: Reviews and implements pharmacotherapy and treatment guidelines with providers with independent functions to initiate - modify or discontinue medication therapy

Actively involved in reviewing patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness - drug selection - dosing - contraindications - side effects - potential drug interactions - and therapeutic outcomes as required

Communicates findings to prescribers and provides appropriate alternatives to current treatment plan as needed

Works collaboratively with providers to provide pharmaceutical care to selected patients (e.g. - hypertension - hyperlipidemia - diabetes - heart failure - COPD - pain - smoking cessation - anticoagulation - and anemia management) and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services

Serves as the primary or alternate consultant for the Home-Based Primary Care Service and as alternative consultants and back-up for CPP managed Specialty Clinics (Anticoagulation - Hepatitis C - and Erythropoietin clinics)

Monitors for and reports drug errors - adverse drug reactions - allergies - and patient compliance issues

Documents findings per facility procedures

Participates in the training and in-servicing of medical staff - nursing staff - pharmacy staff - residents and students and other allied health professionals as required

Effectively instructs patients and family members in the appropriate use of medications and medical devices

Can accurately assess and document patient comprehension

Assists in the development - enhancement - and operation of resident and student training programs

May serve as preceptor for pharmacy students and pharmacy residents in accordance with established protocols

Assists in designing and completing research studies involving clinical pharmacy functions - quality assurance - drug use evaluation or pharmacotherapy

Work Schedule: FT Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm

Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized

Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive

Contact the EDRP Coordinator Karen.Chapman@va.gov for questions/assistance

Learn more Functional Statement #: F04837 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience

Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child

Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Notifications: This position is in the Excepted Service

Veterans' preference does not...