Clinical Pharmacist

VA Careers - Pharmacy: duties and responsibilities include:

Clinical

1) Provides timely responses to drug information requests from patient care providers and nurses.
2) Evaluates providers orders for appropriateness of therapy incompatibilities side effects and interactions of drugs and drug products.
3) Appropriately interacts with the ordering provider or attending as needed.
4) Utilizes patient care information systems such as the electronic health record (EHR) to obtain critical patient data elements and to document pertinent patient care issues.
5) Provides medication use counseling at time of patient encounter.
6) Counsel patients on drug-drug interactions adverse effects food-drug interactions product availability appropriate use of and Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee and pharmacy policies as appropriate.
7) Manages recalls and medication shortage situations by substituting alternate dosage strengths or products per facility policy.
8) Enters supply orders appropriate for patient care per facility policy.
9) Manages various actions as appropriate for medication orders to include flagging prescriptions managing view alerts and using procedures to prevent unintentional dispensing (i.e. hold and park). 10)Extends refills until next scheduled appointment under the providers name per facility policy. 11)Interacts with and makes recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care.
12)Directly involved in the design implementation and monitoring of therapeutic drug plans to achieve definite outcomes by direct interactions with patients and providers.
13)Obtains medication histories from patients and summarizes significant findings in the medical record and/or to the provider.
14)Performs medication reconciliation including updating the medication profile to reflect an accurate active list of VA and non-VA medications.

Dispensing

1) Responsible for verification and evaluation of licensed independent practitioners medication orders/prescriptions and input of written orders when applicable.
2) Selects compounds dispenses and fills a range of drugs including extemporaneous preparations special formulations ophthalmics controlled substances oncolytic agents etc in inpatient and/or outpatient areas and follows appropriate quality assurance procedures as applicable.
3) Checks prescription orders for safety accuracy and appropriateness prior to dispensing.
4) Verifies and fills all orders in a timely fashion.
5) Oversees activities of support staff including Pharmacy Technicians and verifies accuracy of prescriptions as final check before dispensing to the patient.
6) Inputs medication allergy data when information provided by patient/caregiver/provider.
7) Enters non-VA medication data when information provided by patient and/or caregiver.
8) Ensures that drugs dispensed are completely and correctly labeled and packaged in full compliance with Federal rules and regulations.
9) Maintains an adequate knowledge of all automation and technology within the department.

Education and Training

1) Participates in the training and in-servicing of patients nurses providers pharmacists pharmacy technicians pharmacy students and other medical center personnel as required.
2) Completes mandatory training timely including electronic training via Talent Management System (TMS).
3) Effectively instructs patients and family members in the appropriate use of medications and medical devices.
4) Is skilled at using both written verbal and electronic communication techniques in teaching others.
5) May serve as a preceptor for pharmacy students.
6) Has a good working knowledge of information resources such as Micromedex Clinical Pharmacology AHFS Drug Information Facts & Comparisons or other relevant pharmaceutical references both written and electronic.
7) Maintains a current knowledge of therapeutics and disease management.

Administrative

1) Ensures that work of the team is carried out on tours when no supervisory pharmacist is present.
2) Acts as point-of-contact for resolution of time-sensitive pharmacy issues.
3) Contacts additional staff to report for duty in the event of an emergency situation including activation of all hazards emergency cache.
4) Supervises the activities of support personnel and communicates with supervisory staff regarding issues that arise during the time period when no supervisory pharmacist is on site.
5) Participates in the medical center and pharmacy service quality improvement programs

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 8:00 pm Monday - Sunday. 7 days on and 7 days off. Schedule subject to change based on the needs of the Agency.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 92660-A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• 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 ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers 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).

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: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 7407(d).
• Education: (1) Graduate of an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. Verification of approved degree programs may be obtained from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education 20 North Clark Street Suite 2500 Chicago Illinois 60602-5109; phone: or through their Web site at: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.) (2) Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the graduate is able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT).
• Licensure: Full current and unrestricted license to practice pharmacy in a State Territory Commonwealth of the United States (i.e. Puerto Rico) or the District of Columbia. The pharmacist must maintain current registration if this is a requirement for maintaining full current and unrestricted licensure. A pharmacist who has or has ever had any license(s) revoked suspended denied restricted limited or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in VA Handbook 5005 Part II Chapter 3 section B paragraph 16. (1) Exception. Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of II-G15-238 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 2 years for a pharmacist that provides care under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. For grade levels above the GS-11 the candidate must be licensed. (2) Failure to Obtain License. In all cases pharmacists must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure starting from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment the supervisor will provide the unlicensed pharmacist with the written requirement to obtain licensure the date by which the license must be acquired and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. Failure to become licensed within 2 years from date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0660 Pharmacist series and may result in termination of employment.
• 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). See additional information in the Education section of this announcement.

• Knowledge of Professional Pharmacy Practices. To be creditable the experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge skills and abilities associated with professional pharmacy practice. Professional practice means paid/non-paid employment as a professional or unlicensed graduate pharmacist as defined by the appropriate licensing board.
• Residency and Fellowship Training. Residency and fellowship training programs in a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for- year basis. The pharmacy residency program must be accredited by the American Society of Health- System Pharmacists (ASHP). A fellowship program that is not accredited by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) will need to have comparable standards for experience to be creditable (Professional Standards Board refers to the Deputy Chief Consultant for Professional Practice for the determination).
• Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to pharmacy experience at the next lower level. Experience as a Graduate Pharmacist is creditable provided the candidate was used as a professional pharmacist (under supervision) and subsequently passed the appropriate licensure examination.
• Part-time Experience. Part-time experience as a professional pharmacist is credited according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example a pharmacist employed 20 3 hours a week or on a 1/2-time basis would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service