Pharmacy Technician - Clinical

Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. Open to all US citizens.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties include, but are not limited to:

The Clinical Pharmacy Technician (CPT) shall provide support for clinical operations of the Pharmacy, including Care In the Community (CITC) prescription triage and acceptance, electronic health record modernization tasks and subsequent duties, clinical support and scheduling in the Pharmacy Centralized Anticoagulation Clinic, and supporting assigned Clinical Pharmacists and Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners. All clinical decision making will first be reviewed by the Clinical Pharmacist and/or Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner. All assigned clinical activities and functions shall be completed in accordance with approved protocols or procedures. Assigned activities include:

Clinical Activities: The Clinical Pharmacy Technician shall provide and support the clinical operations of the Pharmacy Department. Assigned activities may include:
1) Chart review and confirmation of active/approved CITC consults and initial acceptance/rejection of CITC prescriptions.
2) Clinic duties which entail daily patient appointment review and monitoring of clinic flow to ensure timely patient visits.
3) Conducts patient interviews, including medication history, effectiveness of medications, and need for refills.
4) Routinely reviews computer medication profile for prescription duplication, therapeutic duplication, prescription noncompliance, and allergies/adverse drug reactions.
5) Reports completed medication history reviews to assigned clinical pharmacist for evaluation.
6) Routinely reviews laboratory monitoring reports for selected disease states and identifies patients with lab values beyond normal limits. Reports identified patients to assigned clinical pharmacist for evaluation.
7) Routinely performs patient medical chart and medication profile reviews to identify poly-pharmacy situations. Reports identified patients to assigned clinical pharmacist for evaluation.
8) Obtains and assesses information on compliance, medication dosages, medication changes, alcohol consumption, smoking, bleeding symptoms, and general state of health. Communicates this information to the clinical pharmacist.
9) Enters medication and, when applicable and appropriate, laboratory orders for verification/signature by pharmacist.
10) Provides supplemental reinforcement education for patients concerning operational issues or need for therapy compliance.
11) Runs required reports and reviews data for input by clinical pharmacist.
12) Documents clinical and operational activities as assigned.
13) Utilizes population health to identify patients appropriate for comprehensive medication management provided by clinical pharmacist practitioner.

Technical duties include completing electronic progress notes, scheduling appointments, completing consults, and documenting data in the Pharmacy record or the patient electronic medical record.
i. Communicates to the Clinical Pharmacist and/or Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner any changes in medications/diet, any evident reason for changes in INR value, and any abnormal laboratory findings. Also communicates with other staff (including providers and nursing personnel) any complications of anticoagulation therapy or other problems, when appropriate.
ii. Provides telephone support involved in rescheduling patients who have missed appointments, phone interviews of patients, and triaging incoming phone calls from patients, their family members or other health providers.

Work Schedule: Full-time; 0730-1600, 0800-1630
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 00000

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.
• 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

All requirements must be met by the close date of this announcement, 10/28/2026.

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).

Grade Determinations:

GS-8 Pharmacy Technician
Experience: Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-7.
AND
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.
AND
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
(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.).
(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.

Preferred Experience: Proficiency with medication order entry/transcription; ability to write and communication professionally; familiarity with CPRS, Cerner or both; proficiency with accurate and timely completion of self-directed work. Three years experience as a pharmacy technician preferred.

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.

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.

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:

• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• PTCB as a CPhT OR NHA as a ExCPT

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)
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• PTCB as a CPhT OR NHA as a ExCPT
• Recommended: Write to knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) - See "Qualifications" section of announcement
• Professional Certification
• Proof of Marriage Status
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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