Clarification from the agency

Eligibility for this vacancy is limited to individuals who are current, permanent employees of VA Health Connect within VISN 23. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

**This position is open to current, permanent VISN 23 VA Health Connect employees only. This position may be filled as a Registered Nurse or Pharmacist (Facility Program Manager). These positions are advertised on separate USA jobs announcements. If you are interested in the Registered Nurse position, you will need to apply to that vacancy announcement.**

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Supervisors QM staff and assesses, plans, implements, coordinates, monitors and evaluates the quality and safety of the delivery of care for the organization.
• Assumes a leadership role in facilitating regulatory compliance for internal and external oversight bodies and VHA performance measures, supporting performance improvement work, and supporting and guiding the work of committees.
• Responsible and accountable for individual pharmacy practice and determines the appropriate delegation of tasks consistent with the pharmacy technician and pharmacist's obligation to provide optimal care.
• Leads and implements the Pharmacy Quality Assurance (QA) Program according to standards and regulations.
• Evaluates pharmacy processes to determine if improvements are needed.
• Reviews, audits and implements corrective action, where needed, for all components of pharmacy related CCC processes including pharmacist ordering/prescribing, pharmacist review, clinical chart review audits, telephone call audits and pharmacy technician note review audits.
• Monitors medication errors and adverse drug reactions. Reviews data for trends and when system errors occur, works to correct processes.
• Initiates and/or leads interdisciplinary committees, task forces or groups to improve patient care at the program or VISN level.
• Leads an interdisciplinary team to conduct Root Cause Analyses for clinical adverse events and near miss events; develops action plans to reduce risk of recurrence; follows the progress of these action plans.
• Utilizes innovations and creative approaches for changing pharmacy practice at the program level, based on quality assurance findings.
• Evaluates effectiveness of pharmacy assessments and makes recommendations for consistency with population-specific care standards at the program level.
• Considers intended and unintended impact of any proposed changes on Veteran satisfaction within the program and makes recommendations for mitigation when negative impact is anticipated.
• Ensures all clinical pharmacists are part of pertinence review program. Identifies and provides all reviews to the pharmacist within the program and ensures reviews are completed.
• Coordinates regular meetings with the VISN CCC Pharmacy Program Manager and works with the VISN CCC quality management team on all reviews needing to be submitted for review.
• Participates in the CCC patient safety program and works closely with the Patient Safety Manager.
• Responsible and accountable for development, implementation and maintenance of a Clinical Pharmacy Risk program, in coordination with other CCC entities.
• Suggests and implements changes, working with the VISN CCC Pharmacy Educator to coordinate training for pharmacy professionals on new procedures.
• Champions the internal event reporting system to improve uptake and use among pharmacy staff while creating a ''just culture" to ensure staff feel safe reporting adverse and near-miss events.
• On an ongoing basis reviews Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Handbooks/Directives and all other pharmacy-related regulatory standards and assesses if standards are being met.
• Evaluates compliance of quality standards to meet requirements of accrediting bodies for the program.

Work Schedule: VA Health Connect operating hours are Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM Central Time. VA Health Connect is operational during some federal holidays. Work hours will be discussed during the interview process.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Remote: This position is authorized to work remotely. However, this authorization is contingent on yearly approval from the Secretary of the VA. If approval is denied, the candidate will be required to work from a VA owned or leased space.
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 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

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 appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part.
• 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.

GS-13 Facility Program Manager Grade Determinations:

• Experience. You must have 1 year of experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12). Equivalent experience includes: Handling routine medication-related activities including, but not limited to: 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; contacting providers as appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies; taking health and medication histories; performing medication reconciliation; providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions, nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; documenting and assessing adverse drug events (ADEs); assisting in medical emergencies; and providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of medication distribution.

AND

• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. You must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:
  • 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: Prior experience with quality management and VA Health Connect (Clinical Contact Centers).

All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package.

References: https://department.va.gov/employees/va-qualifications-standards/

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination 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.

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
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• 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
• License
• Clinical Resume (can be greater than 2 pages). See instructions above.
• *Highly Recommended* Write to the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) on a separate document - KSAs are found under qualification/grade requirements in the announcement.
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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

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