Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - Oncology

Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees. Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility. 2. All other VA employees, including current and former VHA Health Professional Trainees (HPT's). 3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies. 4. All other Applicants All other applicant will be referred in Veterans' Preference Order

Major duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Clinical Practice (Primary Function) The CPS functions at the highest level of clinical practice, providing advanced clinical services and medication management in accordance with VHA policy.
  • Provides comprehensive medication management (CMM) for oncology patients across identified care settings.
  • Designs, implements, assesses, monitors, and documents therapeutic plans using evidence-based practices.
  • Performs objective and subjective patient assessments to ensure therapeutic appropriateness and effectiveness.
  • Orders, reviews, and interprets laboratory and diagnostic tests required to support and adjust drug therapy.
  • Initiates, continues, modifies, and discontinues medications, vaccines, devices, and supplies within the approved Scope of Practice.
  • Prescribes controlled substances when appropriately licensed and authorized.
  • Obtains and documents informed consent for pharmacist-provided treatments or procedures that require consent.
  • Conducts patient encounters via face-to-face visits, telephone, VA Video Connect (VVC), and Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT).
  • Provides drug information and expert consultation to providers, nursing, and interdisciplinary teams.
  • Monitors for response to therapy, adverse effects, allergies, medication adherence, and laboratory trends.
  • Adjusts therapy based on clinical data and communicates recommendations to the care team.
  • Ensures continuity of care through appropriate hand-offs, referrals, and follow-up arrangements.
  • A formal Scope of Practice must be approved and maintained for this role and includes authority for prescriptive practice, ordering diagnostics, conducting CMM, and documenting care independently.
• Medication Safety and Quality Performance
  • Promotes compliance with established VA, VISN, and local drug therapy policies.
  • Identifies and reports actual or potential medication errors, adverse drug reactions, and safety events.
  • Participates in quality improvement initiatives, medication use evaluations, and formulary management activities.
  • Documents interventions, outcomes, and consult responses in a timely and professional manner per regulatory standards.
• Education, Teaching, and Research Support
  • Provides education to patients, caregivers, and clinical staff regarding medication therapy.
  • Precepts pharmacy students and residents as assigned.
  • Participates in academic detailing, staff development, and competencies.
  • Participates in the development and implementation of formal and informal drug education/clinical consultation to medical, surgical, nursing, and pharmacy staff in the form of in-services and continuing education programs.
  • Interfaces with other health-care providers and administrators to ensure compliance with established pharmacy policies and procedures.
  • Effectively communicates both orally and in writing regarding complex clinical and technical issues.
• Administrative Responsibilities
  • Assists with the management of acquisition and utilization of new therapeutics in the area of oncology.
  • Supports cost-effective pharmacy services by recommending evidence-based and economically responsible therapy alternatives.
  • Manages workload effectively, prioritizes tasks, and meets established goals and deadlines.
  • Participates in team meetings, population management activities, and care coordination huddles
  • Serves and participates as a member of facility or National committees as assigned
• Pharmacist duties
  • Interacts with treatment team members to optimize drug treatment; develops and assesses target outcomes. Communicates effectively in meetings, in personal conversations, and in written progress notes or consultations.
  • Participates as necessary in a range of staff pharmacy duties, including order verification and completion, medication preparation and dispensing in inpatient and outpatient settings.
  • Provides admission interview and assessment, discharge counseling and patient medication teaching when requested or appropriate. Responds to formal and informal consults from physicians, physician assistants, and nurse clinicians for the purpose of devising rational drug therapy regimens. Monitors patient response to therapy for efficacy, adverse effects, interactions, etc., and recommends changes in therapy and laboratory studies based on patient assessment.
  • Correctly interprets, reviews, and dispenses first doses, and supervises a technician and central pharmacist in other dispensing of all inpatient medications, including ward stock, automatic stock replenishment, unit dose and intravenous admixtures.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position.
• 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

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, 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 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:

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, GS-13:

• Experience: In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
  • GS-12 level experience includes the following
    • Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice.
    • Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff.
    • Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security.
    • Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate all of the following KSAs.
  • Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
  • Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
  • Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
  • Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
  • Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

Preferred Experience: Experience with the VA healthcare system. Completion of a PGY1 residency or PGY2 residency with hematology/oncology or experience with hematology/oncology. BCOP certification highly desirable.

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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13.

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.

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.

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees, including current and former VHA Health Professional Trainees (HPT's).
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies.
4. All other Applicants

All other applicant will be referred in Veterans' Preference Order

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
• Transcript

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 (VA)
• License
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) on a separate document - KSAs are found under qualification/grade requirements in the announcement
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• 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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