The Clinical Pharmacy Technician functions in various areas of the pharmacy, e.g., Inpatient & Outpatient Pharmacy, various storage and Specialty areas, offices and patient care areas, under the supervision of the Clinical Pharmacy Technician Supervisor, depending upon the area of administrative assignment of the incumbent, or a registered pharmacist in the absence of a pharmacy technician supervisor. The Incumbent will provide various technical support services within the pharmacy department. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/28/2023. 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. Experience: (1) Creditable Experience. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with the scope of pharmacy technician practice. (2) Quality of Experience. To be creditable, pharmacy technician experience must be documented on the application and verified in an employment reference, or through other independent means. (3) Part-time Experience. Part-time experience as a pharmacy technician is credited according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a pharmacy technician would receive 1 week of fulltime credit for each 2 weeks of half-time work. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion, involving standing for prolonged periods of time, lifting/carrying of supplies weighing at least 50 pounds, bending/stooping, pushing/pulling of automated dispensing cabinets through various terrains. English Language Proficiency: Pharmacy technicians 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. Certification: PTCB certification is required at this grade level and above. (you must attach/upload a copy of it) Experience: One year experience at the next lower level and must fully meet the KSAs: Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: *1. Ability to evaluate, analyze workflow, and coordinate work activities. 2. Ability to independently gather, evaluate, and analyze data to generate reports and/or for other projects/statistical purposes. 3. Knowledge of pharmacy policies and procedures sufficient to train and orient new employees and other staff 4. Comprehensive knowledge of the operation and care of specialized pharmaceutical equipment. 5. Comprehensive knowledge of the procurement and formulary process. 6. Comprehensive knowledge of investigational drug policies and procedures. 7. Comprehensive knowledge of controlled substance policies and procedures, and the ability to identify and investigate discrepancies in these policies and procedures. 8. Comprehensive knowledge of, and ability to, analyze data in VA information systems. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/15 PART II APPENDIX G28 ["FUNCTIONS 1. Vaccinations: a. Administers, prepare documents, dispense and deliver vaccinations. b. Transports vaccinations and associated supplies in a government vehicle for James A Haley Veterans Hospital and Clinics (on/off-site). c. Lift boxes, supplies, etc. d. Assists with vaccine inventory management and ordering of necessary supplies for vaccinations. e. Assist staff with scheduling appointments. f. Provides reminder phone calls to patients. g. Restock pharmacy and clinic areas with necessary supplies for vaccine preparation and administration. h. Train pharmacy staff on vaccine preparation. i. Instruct nursing staff on inventory management, aseptic technique, and vaccine preparation. 2. Anticoagulation Clinic Support: a. Performs Point of Care (POC) testing for INR. b. Accesses patient compliance and attains renewals for Direct Oral Anticoagulants (DOAC5) c. Assists staff with scheduling appointments. d. Provides reminder phone calls to patients. e. Review dashboards, answer phone calls, order labs under Pharmacists name, mode details on anticoagulation. 3. Hospital Discharges: a. Prepares discharge medications after prescription/order(s) are reviewed by a pharmacist for therapeutic propriety, reviews orders for technical accuracy and converts the order, if necessary, so that the item dispensed corresponds to the drug and dose ordered. b. Reads and interprets prescriptions, obtains proper medication or material in the proper strength and dosage form; determines proper amount and counts, pours, or measures the medications; affixes proper label; and records required data on Pharmacy's copy of prescription/order. c. After a final check by a pharmacist, dispenses and/or delivers medication in ambulatory care or discharge situations. d. Assists decentralized pharmacists and other members of the interdisciplinary health care team in ensuring safe and effective care transitions and patient satisfaction throughout the discharge process. 4. Medication Reconciliation: a. Obtains relevant patient information from patient interviews, AFL's, and nursing homes using JLV. b. Documents the compiled medication list in the medical record appropriately. c. Updates and clarifies allergy information in patients' records in an electronic health record (EHR). d. Improves medication safety by collecting up-to-date prior-to-admission medication lists for patient admitted to the hospital. 5. Pharmacy Automation: a. Oversees all operational aspects of the pharmacy automated dispensing equipment in the inpatient and outpatient areas of the pharmacy as well as throughout the facility and outpatient clinics. b. Equipment includes, but is not limited to: - Automated Dispensing Cabinets (ADC), - Inpatient prepackaging machine and - Outpatient dispensing machine (Script-Pro) c. Responsibilities include: (1) Refills, loads and unload medications to maintain inventory. (2) Maintenance of stock levels, rotation of stock, removal of outdated medications, and record keeping. (3) Trains new employees in the operation of the equipment; (4) Operates, maintains and troubleshoots malfunctions when problems arise; and (5) Monitors performance to assure the safe and efficient operation of the automated dispensing equipment. 6. Patient Aligned Care Team Support: a. Provides reminder phone calls to patients. b. Educates patients to the use of video conferencing visits, MyHealtheVet medication profile view and refill use, secure messaging and other technologies as needed. c. Assists staff with scheduling and resolving issues. d. Assists with the review of Prior Authorization Drug Requests. e. Answers questions from pharmacy and non-pharmacy personnel regarding drug distribution. f. Identifies basic therapeutic problems such as duplicate therapy with drugs in the same class and alerts the pharmacist to the possible need for clinical intervention. 7. Other pharmacy technician duties: a. Performs all the duties of a Pharmacy Technician at lower grades as assigned. b. Participates in quality assurance, process improvement activities, and performance monitors. c. Assists in other patient care areas as deemed necessary to maintain the consistency of overall pharmacy services. 8. Tech-Check-Tech (TCT) Program: Checking the order-filling accuracy of another pharmacy technician. a. Non-narcotics for ADC restocking in areas with fully functioning barcode medication administration (BCMA) technology. b. Refilling of canisters in the Outpatient packing machine. c. Outpatient supplies Work Schedule: The position requires the Pharmacy Technician to be able to work any day of the week, including weekends and holidays. (Hours of Operation are contingent on service needs) You need to be able to drive Government vehicle, and get a Florida driver's license. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. Functional Statement Title/#: Pharmacy Technician GS-661-07 (04657F) Incentive: A 10% relocation incentive MAY be available for well qualified applicants"]
About Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Providing Health Care for Veterans: The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,255 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
