Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - PACT

Veterans Health Administration; Anchorage (AK); On-site; USD 105,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

The Veterans Health Administration seeks a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) at the highest clinical practice level. The CPS will directly care for patients, initiating and adjusting therapy, and serving as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management within a multidisciplinary team. This GS-13 position requires a Pharm.D.

or B.S. in Pharmacy from an ACPE-accredited program, US licensure, and, if educated abroad, FPGEC certification with TOEFL iBT.

Qualifications

• Pharmacist must be licensed or eligible for licensure in the US.
• ACPE-accredited program (Pharm.D. or BS in Pharmacy).
• FPGEC certification and TOEFL iBT required for foreign grads.

Responsibilities

• Initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy for patients.
• Provide intensive medication therapy management services.
• Design, implement and monitor therapeutic plans with the team.
• Order laboratory tests and document therapy outcomes.

Skills

Effective communication

Regulatory knowledge

Problem solving

Specialized area knowledge

Clinical monitoring

Education

Pharm.D. or BS in Pharmacy

FPGEC/TOEFL iBT (for foreign grads)

Job description

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, modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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. 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.
• 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 Determinations

Experience

In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

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.

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

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. 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.

Preferred Experience

PGY1 residency or BCACP certification; clinical experience in ambulatory care (preferred, not required)

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

This work requires moderate lifting and carrying (15-44lbs), light lifting and carrying (under 15lbs), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, standing, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, and near vision correctable at 13\" to 16\" to Jaeger 1 to 4. This work also requires working in dry atmospheric conditions, constant noise, working closely with others and working alone.