Pharmacist (Facility Program Manager)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Medication Safety Program Manager is responsible for medication safety activities for the Pharmacy Service and works independently under the Associate Chief of Pharmacy Operations and keeps pharmacy leadership apprised of trends/problems associated with their assigned activities.

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.

Qualifications

• ACPE-accredited degree in pharmacy (BS or Pharm.D.).
• Foreign graduates must have FPGEC, FPGEE and TOEFL iBT proof.
• Full, current and unrestricted licensure to practice pharmacy in U.S. or DC.

Responsibilities

• Oversee medication safety activities for Pharmacy Service.
• Keep pharmacy leadership informed of trends and issues.
• Coordinate programs to optimize patient outcomes and safety.

Skills

Communication skills

Regulatory knowledge

Problem solving

Leadership

Clinical pharmacology expertise

Education

BS Pharmacy

Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)

State licensure

Job description

The Medication Safety Program Manager is responsible for medication safety activities for the Pharmacy Service and works independently under the Associate Chief of Pharmacy Operations and keeps pharmacy leadership apprised of trends/problems associated with their assigned activities.

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 (1) 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.) (2) 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).
• 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.

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

(a) Experience.

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

(b) 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.

Facility Program Manager.

Manages all aspects of a distinct program to include policy development, quality resources and specialty functions unique to the program to optimize cost effectiveness (budget) and patient outcomes. Coordinates a single program area of a complex pharmacy operation, or multiple program areas within a facility to develop, organize, manage, and control complex pharmacy programs. Develops, organizes, coordinates and manages single or multiple program areas within the medical facility; this may include a single program area at multiple facilities. The Program Manager title is reserved for those individuals who have one or more of the following: supervisory responsibilities for various sections within Pharmacy Service; a complex program requiring coordination of multiple locations such as medical center care facilities, Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), rural health, telemedicine, etc; specialized areas of a complex nature such as nuclear pharmacy, quality assurance, pharmacy informatics, clinical applications coordinator, Home Based Primary Care, pharmacoeconomist or liaison pharmacist duties requiring the coordination of processes with other medical facilities or VISNs.

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:

PGY1 and PGY2 residency in Medication Use Safety or Health-System Pharmacy Administration & Leadership preferred or certification in Medication Safety.

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.

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.