Summary This position functions in the Outpatient Pharmacy section at the AMLK campus, primarily in the unit dose and sterile compounding areas. Work includes preparing sterile hazardous and non-hazardous compounded sterile preparations, medication distribution and inventory control, emergency crash cart replenishment, simple daily maintenance of automated dispensing equipment and interpreting data from pharmacy information systems. Responsibilities Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The duties of this position include: Unit Dose Medication Management: Fills unit dose and automated dispensing cabinet orders. Receives inventory from vendors using provided technology, applies barcode or other labeling as indicated and restocks shelves. Inventories and replenishes emergency cart trays and carts. Operates and provides routine maintenance for pharmacy equipment, such as automated dispensing machines and barcode label printers. Repackages a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, labeling them properly and leaving them for final verification. Performs automation replenishment and processes requests for ward stock; performs record keeping for these activities. Uses proper inventory management of Omnicells and proper procedures when adding medications to the Omnicell. Inspects ward stock supplies for unapproved items, storage practices, and outdates; performs record keeping for these activities. Sterile Compounding: Prepares sterile hazardous and non-hazardous compounded sterile preparations (CSP's) using aseptic technique and safe handling of hazardous medications described in chapters 797 and 800 of the US Pharmacopoeia. Verifies correct formulation and ingredients; selects and measures appropriate components; mixes components in a safe and appropriate manner; inspects the final product for accuracy, appearance and pharmaceutical elegance; labels the product; takes responsibility for ensuring timely delivery. Follows established protocols in determining appropriate beyond-use dates on all pharmaceuticals prepared. Controlled Substances: Abides by the laws and regulations pertaining to controlled substances and follows all VHA, DEA and local facility requirements. Knows and follows standard operating procedures for maintaining complete, accurate, and readily retrievable controlled drug accountability records. Fills inpatient and clinic requests for controlled substances, fills outpatient prescriptions for controlled substances. Participates in routine inventory counts and inspections, identifies questionable circumstances or unusual trends in narcotic usage. Immediately reports discrepancies to the supervisor. Prepares expired or unusable controlled substances for destruction. General: Teaches pharmacy technicians, students, and proper technique for the preparation of sterile products and teaches students and technicians procedures for the unit dose management system. Interacts with patients, pharmacists, nurses and other clinical staff as required. Answers general questions, and refers therapeutic problems. Demonstrates the ability to prioritize and make appropriate decisions in urgent or fast-paced situations. Notifies supervisor of safety or quality concerns in a timely fashion. Performs tasks unique to outpatient pharmacy as needed, including filling outpatient prescriptions, wrapping mail, answering phones, dispensing medications at the window and working in the vault. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm OR 9am-5:30pm, including occasional holidays dependent upon operational needs of pharmacy. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). 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) 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: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements 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 To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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. Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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). Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Grade Determinations: Pharmacy Technician, GS-06 (Full Performance Level) Education or Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower level. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of Federal and state laws related to pharmacy practice. (b) Knowledge of preparation, storage and distribution of medication products including those requiring special handling and documentation. (c) Ability to use pharmacy information systems or operate pharmacy dispensing equipment. (d) Knowledge of basic inventory procedures. (e) Ability to communicate with patients and staff and direct questions to appropriate personnel. Assignments. Pharmacy technicians at the full performance level may fill orders, dispense/deliver medications using automated systems or provide technical customer service to Veterans related to prescription needs. Duties will include delivery of medications to floors/patients, filling medications for the pharmacist to review, checking for expired medications, answering phones with appropriate disposition, preparing sterile products (when applicable) and assisting with basic inventory management such as putting up stock and identifying when medications need to be ordered. Preferred Experience: Prefer CPhT or ExCPT certification. Three years of pharmacy technician experience compounding sterile products in a hospital pharmacy setting. Three years' experience using outpatient pharmacy equipment to include experience with Automated Dispensing Cabinets (Omnicell or Pyxis), outpatient pharmacy robotic systems, or TPN compounding devices (BAXA, Pinnacle, etc) 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-6. Physical Requirements: moderate lifting and carrying (15-44 lbs), reaching above shoulder, standing (6 hrs), repeated bending (2 hrs), near vision correctable, ability to distinguish basic colors, mental & emotional stability, exposure to constant noise, extensive use of keyboard/mouse, working closely with others, working alone. Education Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
