Pharmacy Technician - Automation

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Sioux Falls (SD); On-site; USD 52,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs’ Sioux Falls VA Health Care System seeks an Automation Pharmacy Technician who serves as the automation specialist across patient care areas in both inpatient and outpatient pharmacy services. This role operates at a higher level with advanced duties beyond full performance level expectations.

Applicants pending required education or licensure may be tentatively referred but cannot be hired until all requirements are met.

Qualifications

• US citizenship required or eligible per VA policy.
• National certification (PTCB or ExCPT) required for positions above full performance level.
• English language proficiency required.

Skills

Automation knowledge

Training/mentoring

Workflow analysis

Job description

The Automation Pharmacy Technician position functions as the automation specialist in all the patient care areas of pharmacy service at the Sioux Falls VA Health Care System facility and associated CBOCs, with primary focus in both the inpatient and outpatient pharmacy service. This position is performed above the full performance level with higher-level duties.

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:

a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

b. Education or Experience.

1. None required.


2. For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level.

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

1. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR


2. National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT)

d. 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).

e. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.

f. 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.

g. English Language Proficiency. Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations:

Pharmacy Technician, GS-08.

Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and demonstrate the KSAs below.

Examples of qualifying experience equivalent to the next lower grade level include: Pharmacy technicians at this level are nationally certified and can work autonomously using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties. These pharmacy technicians mentor and train lower graded pharmacy technicians in the practice setting. They assist advanced/ specialized pharmacy technicians and participate in performance improvement initiatives. At this level, pharmacy technicians use independent judgement to perform the full range of duties in the pharmacy

Certification.

For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: (a) PTCB as a CPhT. OR (b) NHA as a ExCPT.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs).

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:

1. (a) Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.) Note: See Specialized Area.in the Definitions Section.


2. (b) Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures.


3. (c) Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy.

To be creditable, a candidate must possess the required knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the scope of pharmacy technician practice. The candidate's experience must be evidenced by active professional practice.

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-8. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-8.