Summary The Clinical Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) at the VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System is certified, highly specialized, and provides administrative, clerical, and clinical support to the clinical pharmacy section of the Pharmacy Service. The functions of the Clinical Pharmacy Technician include retrieving and monitoring laboratory values, medical chart/action profile reviews, telephone logistical support, communicating with MSAs for scheduling, and documentation in the electronic medical record. Responsibilities VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws The Clinical Pharmacy Technician shall provide support for clinical operations of facility clinical pharmacists. All duties of the CPhT will be performed under the supervision of the assigned Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP). Basic: - Evaluate and analyze the workflow to coordinate activities in support of clinical pharmacist practitioners. - Understand and apply Medical Center policies and procedures. - Interact directly with patients and family members to support clinic activities. - Communicate effectively with members of the healthcare team and stakeholders across the system. - Process medication refills upon request and assists with troubleshooting and tracking prescriptions as needed. Administrative: - Provide clinic support by faxing and mailing, and preparation of teaching materials, medication reconciliation, and other pharmacy related communication. - Assists with scheduling future lab orders, follow-up appointments, and missed appointments. - Review clinic consults on a routine basis to schedule new patients for enrollment in clinic. - Triage telephone calls from patients, family members, and/or caregivers to address a variety of issues, evaluate the problem, and provide an appropriate solution or refer the problem expeditiously to the pharmacist when the problem is beyond the technician's level of knowledge or expertise. - Update and maintain the Anticoagulation Clinic Database Clinical: - Receive and triage lab results faxed from the community. - Document labs values in CPRS - Addresses INRs under the supervision of the CPP and determine follow-up intervals for patients on warfarin. - Contacts patients to obtain and document vital signs (i.e., home blood pressure readings, home glucose readings) and triage abnormal readings to the appropriate clinical team member. - Provide patient education on pharmacy topics including prescription refills, patient rights and responsibilities and provides education specific to clinic procedures. - Obtains and documents an up-to-date medication list and relevant medication history. - Document communication with patients in the electronic medical record. - Notify pharmacist of issues related to pharmacotherapy, including duplication, medication compliance, allergies, or adverse reactions, and out of range labs or health factors which are identified through patient communication or medical record review. - Supports the non-formulary and prior authorization drug review process. - Reviews population health dashboards or reports to identify patients who may benefit from comprehensive medication management. - Places return to clinic orders for clinical pharmacy appointments for follow-up. - Places orders for CPP verification. Quality Improvement: - Monitor clinic records for patients who fail to show for scheduled appointments and initiate reminders to ensure continuum of care. - Evaluate and analyze data from anticoagulation clinic database to generate periodic quality assessment reports for submission to the anticoagulation program manager. - Generate reports from population health dashboards as assigned and communicate findings to CPP Work Schedule: 7:30am-4:00pm Monday-Friday Telework: Ad-Hoc, As agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position 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 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 or Experience: A high school diploma or equivalent; or at least 3 months experience. 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). Grade Determinations: Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and demonstrate the KSAs below. Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: PTCB as a CPhT. OR NHA as a ExCPT. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated: Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.) Note: See Specialized Area.in the Definitions Section. Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures. Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy. Preferred Experience: Strong customer service skills, Strong organizational skills. Clinical pharmacy experience strongly preferred. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS08. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily physical, and demands standing, walking, bending/stooping/stretching, twisting, and lifting/carrying items up to 40 lbs (and at times may be more). 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.
