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.
- Education or Experience.
- (1) None required.
- (2) For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level.
- Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
- (1) Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR
- (2) National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
- English Language Proficiency. Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
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:
Pharmacy Technician, GS-08.
Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and demonstrate the KSAs below.
Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
(a) PTCB as a CPhT.
OR
(b) NHA as a ExCPT.
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:
(a) Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.) Note: See Specialized Area.in the Definitions Section.
(b) Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures.
(c) Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy.
Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Pharmacy technicians at this level have a higher level of responsibility for specialized areas of pharmacy and are expected to independently carry out assigned tasks of considerable difficulty.
Pharmacy technicians in this assignment specialize in areas such as sterile compounding, oncology, controlled substances, medication history review, clinical specialist (anticoagulation, pain, infectious diseases), clinical informatics, automation, immunizations and any other specialized area in the advancement of the profession. The pharmacy technician will serve as a subject matter expert and key resource in the day-to-day technician duties of the specialized area. The technician will be performing assignments such as compounding sterile products, filling controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining compliance with Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulations, taking medication histories and counseling patients, managing automation, managing workflow and training and orienting staff in the specialized area.
Preferred Experience:
- Must have experience to receive, read, sort and interpret prescriptions reviews, computer medication profile for prescription duplication, therapeutic duplication, prescription noncompliance, and allergies / adverse drug reactions. Reports identified patients to assigned clinical pharmacist for evaluation.
- Must have comprehensive knowledge in reviewing VA and available non-VA medical records and lab results (e.g., progress notes, glucose, A1c, renal function, etc.) and to be able to apply VHA criteria-for-use and use protocols or algorithms to evaluate laboratory values, clinical response, and other information in available medical records to make preliminary adjudications on selected medication requests.
- Has the ability to communicate appropriately with healthcare professionals internally and externally to retrieve clinical information and records necessary for medication requests.
- Possess clerical skills required to create, update and maintain file systems, databases, and files as required and coordinate with local facility personnel to verify accuracy or advisement of corrective actions.
- Must demonstrate ability to adjust to change or work pressure in a pleasant manner; handle differences of opinion in a businesslike fashion; follow instructions conscientiously; and function as a team member, helping the group effort where possible.
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-8. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-8.
Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.