Pharmacist(Clinical Spec)

Major duties include but not limited to:

• Provide appropriate selection of drug therapy based upon the pharmaceutical principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; monitoring for efficacy side effects and clinical outcome; and advises prescribers as appropriate.
• Recognize physical signs and clinical symptoms relevant to the patients drug therapy.
• Provides patient-specific therapeutic drug monitoring and communicates relevant findings and/or recommendations to other health care providers in charge of the patient both orally and in writing. Monitoring will include prospective review and intervention in:
  • Therapeutic appropriateness of a patients drug regimen
  • Therapeutic duplication in the patients drug regimen
  • Appropriateness of the route and method of administration
  • Degree of patient compliance with the. prescribing regimen
  • Drug-drug drug-food drug-laboratory or drug disease interactions
  • Clinical and pharmacokinetic laboratory data to evaluate the efficacy of drug therapy and to anticipate side effects toxicity or adverse effects
• Oversee pharmacotherapy to ensure that national treatment guidelines are being followed in addition to adherence to national formulary and local policies.
• Interfaces with providers including physicians PAs ARNPs in the design and continued evaluation of the Veterans treatment regimen to achieve optimization of rational and cost-effective drug therapy.
• Serves as an authoritative information source on medications and their utilization in therapy.
• Evaluates drug literature by analysis of experimental design and methodology in order to compare and contrast therapeutic regimens and roles for new drugs.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Variable Shifts including days evening and nights as neededTelework: Not AuthorizedVirtual: This is not a virtual position.Position Title/Functional Statement #:Pharmacist(Clinical Spec)/PD02623ARelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not AuthorizedPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not AuthorizedFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required

• 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 trial 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).

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 (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 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.
• Grandfathering Provision. All licensed pharmacists employed in VHA in this occupation 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.
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
• English Language Proficiency. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 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

addition to the GS-12 requirements must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade . 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.

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. 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.

Preferred Experience: None

References: VA Handbook 5005/55 Part II Appendix G15. Licensed Pharmacist Qualification Standard GS-660 dated June 7 2012. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: The work requires standing light carrying and lifting (under 15 pounds); walking bending reaching above the shoulder and ability to distinguish basic colors. The work also involves working around machinery with moving parts and working closely with others.