Pharmacy Technician

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Sioux Falls (SD); On-site; USD 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Department of Veterans Affairs seeks an Outpatient Pharmacy Technician to join our team in Sioux Falls. The successful candidate will be certified (PTCB or NHA) and perform a full range of duties in pharmacy with independent judgment.

Responsibilities include filling orders, dispensing medications, handling sterile products when applicable, and assisting with inventory management while delivering excellent customer service to Veterans.

Qualifications

• National certification as Pharmacy Technician required (PTCB or NHA).
• Experience with automated dispensing systems and pharmacy operations.
• Ability to work independently with sound judgment.
• Proficiency in English for patient care and documentation.
• Knowledge of distribution and control of medications.

Responsibilities

• Fill orders and dispense medications using automated systems.
• Deliver medications to floors and patients; prepare sterile products when applicable.
• Provide technical customer service to Veterans related to prescriptions.
• Answer phones with appropriate disposition and assist with inventory management.

Skills

Pharmacy principles

Independent work

Customer service

Problem solving

Communication

Tools

Automated dispensing systems

ADE platforms

Job description

Selected candidate will assigned as an Outpatient Pharmacy Technician. At this grade Pharmacy Technicians must be certified by the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) or National Heath career Association (NHA) and work autonomously using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties in pharmacy and applies standards relating to all aspects of distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs.

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 or Experience

None Required

Certification

For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:

• Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).
• National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

English Language Proficiency

Pharmacy technicians appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part.

Grandfathering Provision

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).

Pharmacy Technician, GS-07 Grade Determination

Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower (GS-06) grade level. Equivalent experience includes, but is not limited to: filling orders, dispensing/delivering medications using automated systems and providing technical customer service to Veterans related to prescription needs, delivering of medications to floors/patients, filling medications for the pharmacist to review, checking for expired medications, answering phones with appropriate disposition, preparing sterile products (when applicable) and assisting with basic inventory management such as putting up stock and identifying when medications need to be ordered.

AND

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

In Addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.
2. Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.
3. Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.
4. Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.
5. Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.
6. Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.

Reference

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

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.