Clarification from the agency

1st Consideration: Current Permanent VHA Employees 2nd: Consideration: U.S. Citizens NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

Duties include but are not limited to:He/She is responsible for operations for all facets of inpatient, outpatient and clinical programs and provides support to specialty medical programs such as surgical intensive care unit, medical intensive care unit, opioid treatment program, mental health, and Education. Surgical specialties and pain management clinics to name a few. The Pharmacy Service offers a full range of pharmaceutical and clinical services including but not limited to: decentralized unit dose dispensing, IV admixture program (USP 800 compliant), total parenteral nutrition service, inpatient and outpatient anticoagulation services. Pharmacy service also serves as a major rotation site for pharmacy students from the local schools of pharmacy and has an ASHP accredited Pharmacy Practice Residency program.

The Chief of Pharmacy duties are as follows:

Administrative/Supervision
1. The Chief, Pharmacy Service will have prime responsibility for providing pharmaceutical services to the veteran patients served by this medical center and for the professional and administrative activities supporting these services.
2. Supervises activities of all pharmacy staff including supervisors, pharmacists, technicians and clerical staff.
3. Formulates long and short term goals for the section and coordinates these with the goals of the medical center. Develops an action plan to accomplish these goals within the resources available. Prioritizes goals on a yearly, monthly and daily basis to produce the desired results.

Clinical
1. Coordinates the professional and clinical aspects of the Pharmaceutical Care program.
2. Assures continued accreditation of the Pharmacy Practice Residency.
3. Promotes staff participation in the maintenance and review of Patient Medication Records, Laboratory Tests, Patient Medication Counseling, Patient Medication Interviews, Physician Rounding, Weekly Chart Reviews, Nursing Lectures, and Continuing Education Programs.
4. Develops of new clinical programs, the maintenance of appropriate quality patient care and in providing quality assurance assessments and medication usage evaluation, through performance improvement quality assurance programs.

Education
1. Assures oversight and development of the drug information files consisting of textbooks, reference books, Medical and Pharmacy Journals, and other pertinent data which would be of value as reference material for all concerned personnel.
2. Ensures that the continuing education needs of all pharmacy staff are identified based on performance.
3. Identifies potential candidates for position of higher responsibility and assists in their developmental experiences.
4. Ensures that the department meets the hourly requirements for Performance Improvement activities.

Research
1. Provides opportunities for research conducted by the Pharmacy Service in connection with improvement of work operations, drug use, clinical services, and patient outcomes.
2. Oversees the conduct of pharmaceutical research related to improving usefulness of preparations; improving taste, developing new dosage forms to meet varied demands of clinical investigators, or other members of the professional staff.
3. Oversees for the custody, dispensing and maintenance of investigational drugs in clinical stages of evaluation. Ensures the maintenance of the records of receipts and dispensing of such drugs. Cooperates with the professional staff in providing available drug information. Maintains a file of pertinent data on research drugs.

Program Management
1. Manages and implements an effective continuous quality assessment and improvement program for the Service.
2. Promotes sound and economical personnel management reviews, identifying duties and responsibilities, and justifying personnel needs that are based on current programs and workload requirements.
3. Coordinates efforts in maintaining appropriate records and in meeting the timely submission of all reports and other required information having to do with Pharmacy operations.
4. Evaluates supervisors according to their performance in providing equal opportunity to all employees, and identifies any need for further orientation and training in Equal Employment Opportunity for staff personnel.

Safety and Security:
1. Insures that all drugs are stored in a secure area and will contact the supervisor or designee when an area has been left unsecured or drug theft is suspected.
2. Insures that all work areas are free of situations that could expose employees and patients to harm per medical center policy. Does not allow unauthorized access to secured areas of the pharmacy and will contact the supervisor or designee when necessary to secure the area.



Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm.
Functional Statement #: 21P70O

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

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.

Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, series and grades for all federal positions held, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

(Failure to provide an SF-50 that demonstrates one-year time-in-grade will result in disqualification from being considered)

You will not be contacted for additional information.

Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.


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, 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.
• 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 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: GS-15 Clinical Pharmacist (Service Chief)

GS-15 Experience. In addition to the GS-14 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

Grade Level Criteria. At the GS-15 level, Chiefs of Pharmacy must meet the following:
1. Individuals are assigned as Chiefs of Pharmacy at Complexity Level 1a, 1b or 1c VHA facilities;
OR
2. Individuals are assigned as Chief of Pharmacy at Complexity Levels 2 or 3 and must meet the criteria noted in 2a and b below.

a. Must meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Manages a complex medical center based pharmacy program that is defined as having multiple practice settings (e.g. hospital ambulatory care, long-term care, behavior health care) that require Joint Commission review as separate standards.
(2) In addition to the medical center pharmacy, has responsibility for pharmacy services at one or more of the following: CBOCs, Rural Health Program, domiciliary, or provides dispensing and/or clinical services to State Veterans Home.
(3) Presence of advanced clinical pharmacy programs that include pharmacist(s) that have approved scopes of practice with prescriptive privileges.
(4) Pharmacy provides clinical pharmacist services to three (3) or more specialty areas such as, but not limited to, hemodialysis, oncology, operating room or an emergency department.

b. In addition to the requirements listed in 2a above, must meet at least two of the following:
(1) An ASHP Accredited Pharmacy Residency Program.
(2) Having experience with accredited Research Programs.
(3) You may be actively involved in committees or advisory/work groups.
(4) An ongoing pharmacy student rotation in both the intermediate and advanced practice experience settings.

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.

Service Chief. Responsible for all aspects of pharmacy services at a medical facility by maintaining effective interdepartmental relationships demonstrating active problem resolution skills and close cooperation with other programs and services in accomplishing the medical facility mission and goals. Responsible for budget management, determining resource needs, allocating resources, ensuring proper utilization in productivity, efficiency, and cost effectiveness of the operation. Formulates objectives and priorities and implements plans consistent with the long term interest of the organization, capitalizing on opportunities and managing risks. Responsible for compliance with all safety, regulatory, and accrediting body requirements. Delegates authority to several supervisory and program levels to meet the goals of the service and staff. Ensures orientation and training programs are established to ensure staff development, oversees academic affiliations, and participates in medical facility, VISN, National, other external governmental agencies, and professional associations.

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

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• License
• Resume
• Transcript

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• PCS Orders
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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