The primary function of a Clinical Pharmacist is to assure the safe and appropriate use of medications, and be an advocate of rational drug therapy through the following: evaluation of the appropriateness of drug therapy based on patient specific factors; individualization of drug therapy; evaluation, dispensing and providing medications, and drug information.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Clinical
  • The pharmacist 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.
  • 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 review and intervention in:
    • Therapeutic appropriateness of a patient's drug regimen
    • Therapeutic duplication in the patient's drug regimen
    • Appropriateness of the route and method of administration
    • Degree of patient compliance with the prescribed drug regimen
    • Drug-drug, drug-food, drug-laboratory, or drug disease interactions
    • Clinical and pharmacokinetic laboratory data to evaluate the efficacy of drug therapy and to anticipate side effects, toxicity, or adverse effects
    • Physical signs and clinical symptoms relevant to the patient's drug therapy
  • Performs continuous monitoring and assessment of prescribed medications to assure optimal drug therapy. Communicates the findings and any recommendations for medication changes to appropriate clinical providers for final approval, and documents appropriately in CPRS.
  • Provides patient and health care professionals education and drug information, and medication counseling to patients.
  • Reviews patient allergy and adverse reactions.
  • Serves as a drug information resource by providing up-to-date drug information to prescribers, other health care professionals, patients and caregivers.
  • Participates in patient care rounds, review charts, evaluates pertinent laboratory data, drug-drug and drug-nutrient interactions, monitors for adverse drug effects, and screens for allergies as directed by supervisor.
  • Reports adverse drug events (ADE), near misses, and medication errors in alignment with VA ADERS reporting program as directed.
  • Participates in the medical center medication utilization evaluation (MUE) program.
  • Recommends formulary alternatives and enters non-formulary orders as assigned.
  • Participates in medical emergency preparedness activities.
  • Provides pharmacokinetic consultation, including dosing vancomycin and aminoglycosides, in accordance with local policy.
  • Implements P&T Committee policies.
  • Manages recalls and medication shortage situations by substituting alternate dosage strengths and instructions of the same medication to equal the prescribed dose and schedule.
  • Manages various actions, as appropriate, for medication orders.
  • Extends refills until next scheduled appointment under the provider's name per facility policy.
  • Serves as a role model and preceptor to pharmacy students and residents.
  • Maintains his/her professional competency by keeping abreast of current medical and pharmaceutical literature, new drugs & therapies
  • Dispensing
    • Reviews, interprets, and verifies all medication orders for appropriateness, drug selection, dosage, route of administration and the amount, prior to dispensing. Interacts with and makes recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy to ensure safe and effective care.
    • Fills all orders in a timely fashion; review of the patient's allergy history, drug-drug, drug nutrient, drug-laboratory and drug-disease state interactions and assessment for clinical relevance should be performed and dealt with appropriately.
    • Reviews medication profiles and monitors for compliance or potential abuse; problems encountered shall be resolved
    • Selects, compounds, dispenses and fills a range of drugs including extemporaneous preparations, special formulations, ophthalmics (subconjunctivals and intravitreal injections), narcotics, oncolytic agents, etc., in both outpatient and inpatient areas. Adequate quality assurance procedures shall be followed as applicable.
    • Maintains adequate drug stock, inspects drug storage areas, supervises pre-packing and the operation of automated dispensing equipment.
    • Supervises the activities of support personnel.
    • Ensures drugs dispensed are completely and correctly labeled and packaged in full compliance with Federal rules and regulations.
• Performs additional duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday from 7:00am - 3:30pm
Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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.

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:
  • Applicants must be a 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. OR
  • 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: Applicants must possess a 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.
  • Exception: Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 2 years for a pharmacist that provides care under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. For grade levels above the GS-11, the candidate must be licensed.

NOTE: Individuals who have or have had multiple licenses and had any such license revoked for professional misconduct, professional incompetence or substandard care, or who surrendered such license after receiving written notice of potential termination of such license by the State for professional misconduct, professional incompetence, or substandard care, are not eligible for appointment to the position unless such revoked or surrendered license is fully restored (38 U.S.C. § 7402(f)). Effective November 30, 1999, this is a requirement for employment. This requirement does not apply to licensed pharmacists on VA rolls as of that date, provided they maintain continuous appointment and are not disqualified for employment by any subsequent revocations or voluntary surrenders of State license, registration or certification.

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).

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.

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 Determination for GS-11:

• There is no specialized experience or education required beyond the basic requirements.

Grade Determination for GS-12:

• In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must meet and be able to show one of the following:
  • 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, OR
  • Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  • 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

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-12.

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.