Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

The clinical pharmacist shall routinely maintain an outstanding and up-to-date clinical knowledge base with regard to medication therapy contemporary journal articles and contemporary pharmacy practice. The clinical pharmacist will routinely provide and support leadership and management oversight as it relates to the clinical programs and clinical activities of assigned personnel.

1. Scanning the internal and external environments to determine opportunities to enhance pharmacy services to support patient education patient adherence clinical outcomes and team member growth and development.
2. Monitoring drug utilization (formulary non-formulary restricted) and intervene to ensure formulary adherence and optimal evidence-based clinical outcomes.
3. Meet with new patients entering our system to reconcile medications review formulary availability and options for conversion and educate regarding VA policies.
4. Monitor the educational needs of providers pharmacists and patients and make recommendations to address any deficiencies. Actively participate in supporting any defined educational programs and activities.
5. Routinely benchmark with national contemporary programs and make recommendations for clinical pharmacy service and program changes.
6. Analyze and interpret the published literature and appropriately apply ones addition demonstrate a willingness to maintain a current understanding in terms of the breadth and depth of the literature in appropriate clinical areas.
7. Participate in the development of quality and performance monitoring programs to support the optimal use of our personnel and medication resources.
8. Actively demonstrate a willingness to generate cost containment ideas and then to implement and enforce departmental and/or institutional programs to support the wise use of available resources.
9. Routinely demonstrate the willingness to identify and address the routine and the most salient needs of our stakeholders (patients providers and colleagues).
10. Act as a liaison between service line leadership pharmacy management medical staff and healthcare personnel and assigned pharmacy team members. Routine emphasis should be on clinical operational and environmental-scanning communication updates.
11. Actively support the development implementation management and monitoring of clinical and operational guidelines - national VISN and local.
12. Actively support through personal and team mentoring the professional growth of assigned personnel.
13. Actively support the service line team-based management of the pharmacy service. Demonstrate a willingness to support the actions and decisions of the management team.
14. Actively support the departments medication and fiscal management activities and programs.
15. Demonstrate the ability willingness knowledge and wisdom to know with whom to communicate and when to resolve clinical and operational concerns.

The clinical pharmacy specialist shall routinely provide and support pharmacoeconomic and clinical pharmacy staff activities and is directly responsible for monitoring and managing medication therapy for assigned patients. Clinical pharmacy and pharmacoeconomic activities shall be performed in accordance with the individuals approved scope of practice.

The clinical pharmacy specialist shall be responsible for providing medication information and drug literature analysis as requested.

As a secondary function to support patient care the incumbent will develop and maintain a working knowledge of our Pharmacy VISTA/CPRS software packages.

The clinical pharmacy specialist shall be responsible for participating in the educational services and activities of the pharmacy department.

The clinical pharmacy specialist shall help coordinate and participate in the conceptualization development and implementation of all pharmacy-based medication and service-related studies and research projects as requested.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 am-4:30 pm (Subject to change based on agency need.)
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #:
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

• 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 ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued identification 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 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.

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.
• Education: TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED
  • (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: (NOTE: 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 2 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: YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF CURRENT LICENSE WITH THE APPLICATION PACKAGE. 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.
• English Language Proficiency. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 7407(d).

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: GS-13 Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
Experience: In addition to the GS-12 requirements must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
Assignments: Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. For all assignments above the full performance level the higher level duties must consist of significant scope administrative independence complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

The clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) functions at the highest level of clinical practice works independently under their scope of practice as defined by the individual medical center to directly care for patients. A CPS plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider who functions to initiate modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services. This includes but is not limited to the following: designing implementing assessing monitoring and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective least toxic and most economical medication treatments; helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients providers and interdisciplinary teams in assigned areas; performing physical assessments; and ordering laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy.

Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:
a. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
b. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
c. Ability to solve problems coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
d. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
e. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

The selectee will be appointed at the GS-13 above the full performance grade level.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit Requirements: Heavy lifting 45 pounds and over Heavy carrying 45 pounds and over Straight pulling (2-3 hours) Reaching above shoulder Use of fingers both hands required Walking (2-3 hours) Standing (2-3 hours) Kneeling (1 hours) Repeated bending (Intermittent hours) Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously Near vision correctable at 13 to 16 to Jaeger 1 to 4 Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other Both eyes required Ability to distinguish basic colors Hearing (aid permitted) Mental/emotional stability.