Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. First consideration will go to VISN 22 employees. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Duties may include, but are not limited to :

• Functions as an Advanced Practice Provider in utilizing a patient-centered approach to improve patient health outcomes through optimizing medication use in collaboration with the patient and other healthcare providers.
• Manages patients with chronic primary care disorders (e.g., diabetes, including the management of continuous glucose monitoring, HTN, dyslipidemia, weight loss medication management, hypothyroidism, tobacco use disorder, heart failure, etc.)
• Manages transgender hormone therapy in gender affirming care for medical specialty clinics where applicable.
• Collaborates prospectively with primary care, specialty care, &/or urgent care providers to develop, implement, and maintain systems that promote desirable clinical outcomes of acute and chronic disease states through use of safe, evidence-based, and cost-effective drug therapies.
• Coordinates all clinical pharmacy functions for varying areas including but not limited to primary care, urgent care, specialty clinics and coordination of care as needed and assigned to help achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams. Attends and participates in huddles, team meetings, conferences, and other meetings as required for the purpose of designing, implementing, assessing, monitoring, and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic, and most economical medication treatment.
• Performs initial and periodic assessment of patients' medication therapy, thorough medication reconciliation, identification of drug-related problems; and makes recommendations and/or implements changes (within scope of clinical privileges) as necessary. Comprehensive medication management (CMM) will be conducted primarily via telehealth modalities (i.e., VA Video Connect [VVC], Clinical Video Telehealth [CVT], Telephone, electronic consults, etc.), including chart review encounters.
• Assesses and prioritizes the patients' active medical conditions, taking into account clinical and patients' goals of therapy. Assesses the indication, effectiveness, safety, and adherence of each mediation the patient is taking. Makes appropriate adjustments to medication therapy.
• Documents pharmaceutical care plan and interventions performed in electronic health record and/or facility specific programs.
• Orders, reviews, and analyzes appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies necessary to monitor and support the patient's drug therapy. Follows-up with patients on lab or test results to monitor, evaluate, and adjust medication therapy.
• Monitors serum levels for patients receiving drugs with narrow therapeutic indices and evaluates and adjusts medication therapy using pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles.
• Ensures appropriate care coordination during transitions of care between clinical settings, including placing referrals for higher level of care when clinically appropriate or outside of CPP scope of practice.
• Ensures appropriate selection of medications, dosages, and administration, and provides recommendation on routes and dosages for alternative medications if warranted.
• Identifies, reports, and monitors adverse drug events, allergies and patient adherence issues.
• Orders, performs, and interprets the physical measurements necessary to monitor, support and modify the patient's medication therapy.
• Maintains working knowledge of applicable medication criteria for use. Applies knowledge to direct appropriate medication therapy selection for CMM.
• Productivity standards are monitored in alignment with the Clinical Pharmacy Practice Office (CPPO) and Clinical Resource Hub expectations; the CPP is expected to maintain a productive practice as outlined by the VISN 22 CRH Pharmacy Program Manager for %Encounter Productivity, %Bookability, PhARMD Tool Interventions, CMM, etc.
• Provides highly specialized education and training support to other professional services in the area of advanced pharmacotherapy.
• Collaborates with other clinical services in the provision of specialized training programs and assists in the development of innovative training concepts aimed at improving the knowledge and quality of pharmacy and other clinical service staff.
• Serves as consultant and active participant in drug usage evaluation reviews. Assists in the development of proposals for improved and/or new clinical pharmacy services.

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 examination.
• 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.

• 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.

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.

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Noncitizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.)
• 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, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, Illinois 60602-5109; phone: (312) 664-3575, 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 licensee 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.
  • Exception. Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 2 years for a pharmacist that provides care under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. For grade levels above the GS-11, the candidate must be licensed.
  • Failure to Obtain License. In all cases, pharmacists must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure starting from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the unlicensed pharmacist with the written requirement to obtain licensure, the date by which the license must be acquired, and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. Failure to become licensed within 2 years from date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0660 Pharmacist series and may result in termination of employment.
  • Grandfathering Provision. All licensed pharmacists employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
    • Employees grandfathered into the GS-660 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
    • Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration, that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
    • If a licensed pharmacist who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

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.

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume, as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

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.

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

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

• Cover Letter
• License
• Other (1)
• MISC
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee (within the last year of the announcement closing date)
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Next steps