Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT)

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. NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.

03Licensure

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. Exception: Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2)(B).

The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 2 years for a pharmacist that provides care under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist.

Foreign Education: 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). English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C.

7402(d), and 7407(d).

04Grade Determinations

GS-13 Clinical Pharmacist Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. 1. 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, or 2. Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 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 1. Completion of Pharmacy Residency accredited by American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) OR; 2.

At least one year of Clinical ambulatory care experience and ability to demonstrate the following higher level duties: initiate, modify, or discontinue medication therapy; design, implement, assess, monitor and document therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic and most economical medication treatments; help achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients, providers and interdisciplinary teams; perform physical assessments; and order laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy.

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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13.

05Physical Requirements

You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

The CPP will be assigned to the PACT team in the primary care clinics. Teams are located in the main facility and associated community-based outpatient clinics. The CPP will be consulted by their team(s) for comprehensive medication management of complex patients with chronic diseases commonly seen in the primary care setting.

Clinical 1) Core functions include face-to-face, telephone, and VA video connect (VVC) encounters with referred patients, for comprehensive medication management in practice areas identified in their individual scope of practice. 2) Functions as an advanced practice provider to design, implement, and monitor therapeutic drug plans with an independent scope of practice. i. Initiates, modifies or discontinues patient's medication therapy for intensive medication therapy management services.

Provides patient-specific drug therapy modifications to maximize patient response and minimizing drug interactions, adverse drug effects, and polypharmacy while providing cost-effective treatment. The assessments are based on clinical reviews and objective measures. ii. Orders, performs, reviews and analyzes appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies necessary to monitor and support the patient's drug therapy.

Provides follow-up with patients on lab or test results to discuss the plan of therapy (i.e. changes in medication therapy, monitoring and evaluation, additional testing requirements, referral to primary care or specialty care physician). iii. Ensures therapeutic appropriateness of a patient's drug regimen, reviewing for potential therapeutic duplications, drug-drug, drug-food, drug-laboratory, or drug-disease interactions. iv. Evaluates and orders supply items as appropriate for patient care. v.

Determines if a referral to the physician is necessary when disease progression occurs or adverse drug events require treatment interventions outside of the CPP scope of practice. 3) Serves as an independent anticoagulation provider in the anticoagulation clinic as needed/scheduled. 4) Supervises the activities of clinical pharmacy technician(s). i. Monitors and directs the clinical pharmacy technician(s) in patient care responsibilities. Reports any serious problems to supervisor. ii.

Assigns tasks and sets priorities for clinical pharmacy technician(s) when in the practice area. Provides guidance and direction as needed for efficient accomplishment of tasks assigned. iii. Reviews the work of the clinical pharmacy technician(s) and takes corrective action if needed. Drug Information 1) Serves as an authority on drug usage, interactions, over-dosages, and adherence to medical staff, nursing staff, technicians, and students.

1. Has good working knowledge of information resources, both written and electronic. 3) Recommends formulary alternatives and completes non-formulary consults as assigned. 4) Provides timely and accurate responses to drug information inquiries from all customers. Education 1) Assumes an active role in staff development of peers and provides pharmacy-related educational opportunities to nursing, medical staff or to other ancillary services.
2. Maintains his/her professional competency by keeping abreast of current medical and pharmaceutical literature, new drugs and therapies, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacotherapeutics in the area of practice. 3) Participates in the training and in-servicing of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, and other staff on assigned teams. 4) Serves as preceptor for pharmacy students and pharmacy residents in accordance with established policies.

Research 1) Participation in research activities must be in accordance with FDA guidelines and regulations and VHA policy. 2) The CPP may be involved in designing and conducting research studies or assist in the same. Proposals for research must be submitted to the IRB and Research and Development Committee. Other 1) Serves on medical center and/or VISN committees as assigned. 2) Adheres to all medical center and department policies and regulations.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized