Clarification from the agency

AREA OF CONSIDERATION: US Citizens

VISN 12 is committed to fostering and sustaining an environment which celebrates diversity, provides equitable opportunities for employment and promotion, and supports inclusiveness in our culture. Together, we strive to create and maintain working and learning environments that promote professional growth and teamwork, and are inclusive, equitable and welcoming. We embrace our differences as individuals and unite as a team toward a common goal: to serve our nation's Veterans.

Function or Scope of Assigned Duties: The Pharmacy Technician - Medication History Coordinator evaluates and coordinates the workflow and technical aspects of pharmacy operations within the medication history program. The pharmacy technician coordinator is responsible for training, performance improvement, regulatory compliance, corrective actions, and quality assurance activities.

A. Coordinator Functions: Effectively directs technical staff to assure workflow is optimized within assigned service area. Continuously analyzes and reassesses priorities, redirecting staff to assure that workload demands are accomplished in the most effective, efficient, and economic manner possible.

• Assures that responsibilities are covered in such a way to Veteran needs and promote employee morale.
• Assess workload volume throughout the day, identify backlogs, and makes adjustments as needed to meet organizational goals.
• Identify areas of duplication of efforts and develop solutions to streamline processes, reduce waste, cost savings, and improve patient care.
• Responsible for organizing and assisting the pharmacy technician team to ensure assigned tasks are timely and accurately completed for their program area.

B. Technical Duties - Medical History Coordinator: Performs technical support work in the pharmacy under the supervision of a registered pharmacist.

• Interviews patients, family members and/or caregivers, to develop an accurate list of medications, drug strengths, dosages, routes and instructions the patient has been taking.
• Contacts other pharmacies, hospitals and long-term care facilities to complete the accurate list.
• Assesses patient compliance with prescribed therapy through patient/caregiver interview and review of refill dates.
• Compares the compiled list with the active medication profile in the computerized medical record of the patient.
• Documents the compiled list in the electronic medical record, noting any discrepancies or omissions within 24 hours of the patient encounter.
• Notifies the overseeing pharmacist of any discrepancies, omissions, questions or concerns regarding the patient.

Pharmacy Technician: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Pharmacy-Technician-Career-Flyer.pdf
VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws
Work Schedule: Mon-Fri days with weekend, evening and holidays as needed
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Recruitment Incentive (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)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
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: N/A
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 0 6486F
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

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: You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d)
• Education or Experience:
  • a. None required.
  • b. 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 (GS-07 and above): For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
  • a. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). (MUST PROVIDE A COPY OF CERTIFICATION) OR
  • b. National Health career Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT). (MUST PROVIDE A COPY OF CERTIFICATION)

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).Grandfather Provision. A Pharmacy Technician employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (11/7/2023) 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Grade Determinations:
Pharmacy Technician, GS-09 In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-09 you must possess at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-08).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. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).
• b. National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs:

• 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.
• Knowledge of pharmaceutical and supply inventory requirements to ensure compliance with regulations and national/audit/inspections (e.g., financial regulations, The Joint Commission, Inspector General, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, DEA, USP 797/800, FDA 503A/B).
• Knowledge of clinical specifications, characteristics and ordering processes of a wide variety of soft prosthetics and supply items (e.g., catheters, colostomy, ileostomy and urostomy supply and associated products) that technicians procure to dispense to Veterans in the outpatient pharmacy setting.
• Skill in managing specialized programs related to inventory including, but not limited to, specialty medications and supplies, All Hazards Emergency Cache Program, recalls, reverse distribution and pharmaceutical waste.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in medication history programs and/or pharmacy technician leadership experience.

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-7.

Physical Requirements: Refence VA Directive and Handbook 5019

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:

• PTCB or NHA certification
• Resume

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)
• PTCB or NHA certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps