Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - Inpatient Mental Health

VHA Health Professions Trainee (HPT): VHA HPTs pending the completion of education or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. NOTE: This applies to current/past/upcoming VHA HPTs only.

An HPT is an individual appointed to a temporary position in one or more VHA medical facilities performing clinical or research training experiences to satisfy program or degree requirements or receiving VA Health Professional Scholarship Program. HPTs can be either VA-paid or Without Compensation (WOC).

01Basic Requirements

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

02Education

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: (312) 664-3575, or through their Web site at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/. (NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program.

Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.) 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. 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). GS-13 Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - Inpatient Mental Health Grade Determinations: 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. Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

Experience equivalent to the next lower grade GS-12 level includes: Reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; contacting providers as appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies; taking health and medication histories; performing medication reconciliation; providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions, nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; documenting and assessing adverse drug events (ADEs); assisting in medical emergencies; providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of medication distribution.

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: Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.

Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. 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-13.

03Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Functions Or Scopes of Practices. The incumbent treats patients, team members, other facility employees and visitors with respect and responds to request in a courteous and timely manner. The incumbent demonstrates appropriate and proactive interpersonal skills to achieve the goals of the service. Acts as a team member and is always supportive of the group's efforts.

The incumbent demonstrates an ability to work under a variety of circumstances to maximize group productivity and quality. Clinical Duties: The Inpatient Mental Health CPP is a pharmacist with advanced training in pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacology, and clinical pharmacy (pharmacotherapy) that functions as an independent advanced practice provider.

The primary function of the CPP is to provide mental health and substance use disorder pharmacotherapy and evaluate medication therapy through direct patient care involvement on the acute mental health unit. Through clinical assessment, they evaluate patient responses to medication therapy, communicate and document those findings, and make recommendations to appropriate individuals and document recommendations appropriately.

Medication therapy management provided by the CPP includes the selection of appropriate medication for disease state management, monitoring of patient outcomes, analysis of adverse drug events, and medication reconciliation. The CPP also provides comprehensive discharge services, including medication reconciliation and medication education. Their indirect patient care activities include pharmacy benefits management, teaching, quality assurance, medication utilization review and staff development.

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday- 7:30am -4:00pm or 8:00am to 4:30pm. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 260554-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized