Pharmacy Technician - Informatics and Medication Safety

Clarification from the agency

This is an INTERNAL ANNOUNCEMENT and is limited to current permanent employees of the Iowa City VA Health Care System and current permanent VA Nationwide employees. If you are not in any of these categories, you should apply under the external announcement number CBSY-13077188-26-MI NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNED DUTIES:

• Automation and Informatics
  • Serves as a subject matter expert and key resource in the technical areas of pharmacy automation and informatics.
  • Organizes, coordinates, and manages the technical aspects of multiple pharmacy automation systems under the supervision of informatics pharmacists. Develops workflows and related training and orientation of pharmacy staff.
• Medication Safety
  • Assists the Medication Safety Officer with data collection, event reporting, medication safety surveillance, quality improvement activities, and educational support.
  • Serves as a resource for staff on medication safety processes and reporting procedures.
  • Provides administrative support to the Medication Safety Subcommittee.
• Performs other duties as assigned, including but not limited to those of a GS-07 or GS-08 Pharmacy Technician in the inpatient and outpatient pharmacies.
• Occasional travel within the healthcare system may be required.

FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES:

• Automation and Informatics
  • Manages the technical aspects of multiple pharmacy automation systems under the supervision of informatics pharmacists. Coordinates hardware and software across ICVAHCS and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) to ensure timely, safe, efficacious, and cost-effective services.
  • Ensures maximum system availability. Resolves system issues or escalates appropriately. Notifies affected staff and pharmacy leadership of system outages. Proactively communicates planned outages and contingency plans.
  • Provides front-line technical support. Serves as liaison to Office of Information and Technology (OIT), Healthcare Technology Management (HTM, "BioMed"), and vendors. Submits and monitors service tickets. Coordinates installations and support.
  • Participates in system testing.
  • Develops, maintains, and provides pharmacy system orientation and training. Contributes to standardized and vetted orientation and training plans for all new pharmacy employees.
  • Develops and runs reports as needed. Responds to operational information requests before applicable deadlines.
  • Establishes and maintains record keeping systems.
• Medication Safety
  • Assists in the collection, entry, and tracking of medication-related safety events, including adverse drug events (ADEs), medication errors, and near misses, using designated reporting platforms such as JPSR and VA Adverse Drug Event Reporting System (ADERS).
  • Conduct preliminary review of event reports for completeness and accuracy prior to pharmacist or Medication Safety Officer review.
  • Supports pharmacists in monitoring facility compliance with VHA, FDA, DEA, OIG, and Joint Commission medication safety standards by gathering and organizing compliance data.
  • Runs and compiles standard reports from safety databases as directed, distributing them to designated staff for analysis.
  • Assists in the preparation of de-identified summaries of medication event data for pharmacy management and interdisciplinary sharing.
  • Maintains up-to-date records of ISMP alerts and communicates related notifications to pharmacy staff as instructed.
• Supports the department's residency program through participation in informatics and medication safety rotation activities.
• Performs specialized automation, informatics, and medication safety duties at least 25% of the time. Performs other professional or administrative tasks as assigned by the Pharmacy Informatics Supervisor, Medication Safety Officer, or Chief of Pharmacy Service.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Recruitment/Relocation 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.
• 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 at the time of the announcement closing.

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.
  • None required.
  • 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:
  • Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR
  • National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
• Grandfathering Provision. Pharmacy technicians employed in VHA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
  • Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
  • Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
  • Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
  • Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
  • Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• 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-9:

• Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-08) 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:
  • PTCB as a CPhT. OR
  • NHA as a ExCPT.

• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for ALL GS-9 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:
  • Expert knowledge serving as a key resource advising others in their particular specialty area or section of the pharmacy (such as procurement, sterile compounding (USP compounding standards),controlled substances DEA, automation, clinical pharmacy, lead tech, contact center, etc.).
  • Skill in analyzing data for self-driven (independent) performance improvement projects, workload analysis and statistical reports.
  • Skill in solving problems and implementing corrective actions to maximize outcomes in their program area.
  • Ability to maintain special accreditations and prepare for national reviews/inspections (e.g., The Joint Commission, Inspector General, American Society of Health System Pharmacists®, controlled substance inspections).
  • Ability to develop training programs and material for orientation, competency development and educational needs for regulatory requirements within the specialized pharmacy program area.
• 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 are nationally certified and can work autonomously using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties. Pharmacy technician coordinators perform the full range of program coordination in their specialized area of pharmacy. These positions require independent technical judgement and expertise in complex areas of pharmacy practice that have specific laws, significant regulatory requirements and quality/safety standards. They organize, coordinate and manage single or multiple programs under the delegation of pharmacy supervisors or Associate Chiefs. Pharmacy technicians at this level must have expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for the complex program area and manage all aspects of compliance with these standards with limited input from pharmacy supervisor(s). Pharmacy technicians at this grade level may be assigned as a coordinator in areas requiring detailed regulatory oversight and record keeping including, but not limited, to the Controlled Substance Program, Research/Investigational Drug Program, Procurement, Automation & Informatics program, Quality/Patient Safety, Clinical or Call Center.

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-9.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.1.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)
• Professional Certification

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
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• **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
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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

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