Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - Oncology

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Saint Cloud (MN); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Oncology serving as an advanced practice provider. The CPS will plan, develop, and maintain comprehensive clinical pharmacy services, operating under an approved Scope of Practice with prescriptive authority to initiate, modify, or discontinue therapy.

Required are US citizenship, English proficiency, and a Pharm.D. (or BS with ACPE/FPGEC) and full licensure.

Qualifications

• Education: ACPE-accredited degree (BS Pharmacy or Pharm.D.). Foreign grads must prove FPGEC, including FPGEE and TOEFL iBT.
• Licensure: Full, current, unrestricted pharmacy license in a U.S. state or D.C. (may involve additional regional requirements).
• English proficiency: Proficient in spoken and written English as required by VA guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Plan, develop, and maintain comprehensive clinical pharmacy services for oncology patients.
• Prescriptive authority and independent medication therapy management within approved Scope of Practice.
• Initiate, modify, or discontinue medication therapy as clinically appropriate.
• Monitor and assess drug therapies, including lab parameters, to ensure safe and cost-efficient care.

Skills

Professional pharmacy practice

Oral and written communication

Drug therapy monitoring

Problem solving

Regulatory knowledge

Education

Pharm.D. or BS Pharmacy

ACPE-accredited degree proof / FPGEC (for foreign grads)

Job description

The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) in Oncology serves as an advanced practice provider responsible for planning, developing, and maintaining comprehensive clinical pharmacy services geared toward safe, effective, and cost-efficient patient care. The CPS practices under an approved Scope of Practice with prescriptive authority, functioning independently to initiate, modify, or discontinue medication therapy.

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

Grade Determinations

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, GS-13

• Experience: In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
  • GS-12 level experience includes the following
    • 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.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate all of the following KSAs.
  • Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
  • Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
  • Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
  • Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
  • Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

Preferred Experience

Experience with the VA healthcare system. Completion of a PGY1 residency or PGY2 residency with hematology/oncology or experience with hematology/oncology. BCOP certification highly desirable.

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

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.