Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. Area of consideration is eligible for Current, Permanent VA employees.

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

The Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP) serves as a provider with prescribing privileges as outlined in the individual's Scope of Practice for Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP) in Mental Health. The primary responsibility of the CPP is the provision of evidence-based pharmaceutical care services through both direct and indirect interaction with patients and providers. The CPP promotes and manages drug therapy based on current clinical knowledge that is consistent with policies established at the national, VISN, and local levels. The CPP functions as part of the VISN 6 TMH Hub team and is most effective when assigned to a panel of patients to support continuity of care.

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

Clinical:

• Assists in treatment planning for psychiatric patients.
• Provides patient care which is appropriate to the cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation needs of the patient.
• Directly involved in the design, implementation, and monitoring of therapeutic drug plans to achieve definite outcomes through direct interactions with patients and providers in assigned areas.
• Obtains medication histories from patients and summarizes significant findings in the medical record to the provider as appropriate.

Administrative:

• Works directly with the Clinical Pharmacy Program Manager to support development of measures, goals, and objectives and to track performance, based on regulations, procedures, and policies.
• Assists in the development and implementation of care programs within the VISN 6 Telemental Health Hub.
• Participates in various programs designed to enhance and improve the delivery of patient care services such as Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) teams.
• Participates and attends medical center and/or VISN committees as assigned by the Clinical Pharmacy Program Manager and/or the Telemental Health Section Chief.

Academic:

• Provides guidance and supervision of post graduate pharmacy residents assigned to the Telemental Health Hub as outlined in VHA Handbook 1400.1, "Resident Supervision" and within the guidelines governing telehealth care.
• Participates in the training and in-servicing of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, and other medical center personnel as required.
• Assists in the development and implementation of education and training programs for pharmacy residents rotating through Telemental Health Hub.

Research:

• Supports research mission in conducting studies regarding treatment modalities, outcomes, and other aspects of patient care when appropriate.
• If involved in an ongoing research project, abides by all VA regulations governing research protocols/policies and/or procedures.
• Encourages participation in clinical research among other staff members.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Pending exemption for remote status: Under the 180-day Mid-Term Extensions (MTE). This position could be approved for Mid-Term Extensions (MTE). MTE allows for the facility leader to grant employees in the identified positions an extension up to 180-days to RTO; in which case approved positions would be approved locally to grant telework/remote for those 180-days.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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 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.

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.

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). TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION
  • 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). YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF FPGEE AND TOEFL WITH YOUR APPLICATION
• 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. YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF CURRENT LICENSE WITH THE APPLICATION PACKAGE.

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: In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Examples of experience include: reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies; performing medication reconciliation; providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions, nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; and documenting and assessing adverse drug events (ADEs).

In addition, you must have experience which demonstrates the following knowledge, skills and abilities: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the basic requirements, and grade requirements; the candidate must be able to demonstrate 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:

• Education/training: PGY1 Pharmacy Residency
• Education/training: PGY2 Pharmacy Residency in Mental Health or PGY1 + 3 years > 50% clinical experience in Mental Health
• Certification: BCPP
• Experience: Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (Mental Health) - direct patient care with scope of practice
• Experience: Telehealth experience
• Licensing: DEA license or experience prescribing/managing controlled substances

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

Physical Requirements: Must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the duties of the position.

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:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

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
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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

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