Clinical Pharmacist - Home-Based Primary Care

The Clinical Pharmacist, Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC), provides pharmacotherapy expertise for HBPC patients and interdisciplinary teams. Responsibilities include initial and quarterly medication reviews addressing therapeutic optimization, safety, interactions, adverse events, and cost-effectiveness; team participation; order interpretation and verification; patient education; profile review; technician supervision; compliance with all policies and regulations.

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

Clinical Practice and HBPC Services

• Serves as an active, full-participating member of assigned Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) teams.
• Collaborates with physicians and other health care professionals to develop rational, safe, effective, and cost-effective medication therapy.
• Evaluates medical literature and applies pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles to compare therapeutic regimens and recommend patient-specific medications, dosages, and therapeutic goals.
• Provides authoritative drug information, with emphasis on geriatric pharmacotherapy and medications requiring therapeutic monitoring, including therapies for cardiovascular, endocrine, and pulmonary conditions.
• Identifies diseases, symptoms, abnormal findings, adverse effects, interactions, and other medication-related problems requiring modification of drug therapy.
• Interprets medication histories, establishes and updates patient-specific databases, monitors therapy, and documents findings and interventions in the medical record and Pharm.D. tool system.
• Completes required clinical documentation, encounter information, workload credit, and quality indicators.
• Maintains an active roster of assigned HBPC patients and tracks medication review completion and due dates.
• Identifies patients who may benefit from clinical pharmacist practitioner services through population management and other methods.
• Serves as a pharmacy service liaison and clinical resource for medication use and advanced pharmacotherapeutics.

Education and Professional Development

• Assesses and addresses the educational needs of patients and families to support therapeutic goals.
• Provides medication-related education and specialized pharmacotherapeutic training to health care professionals and medical center staff.
• Provides scheduled in-service education and supervises pharmacy students or residents when assigned.
• Participates in educational programs and serves as a resource on drug therapy, pharmacy policies, and medication-related questions.

Pharmacy Operations

• Ensures the accuracy and appropriateness of medication dispensing and compounding through order interpretation, data entry, profile review, and final verification.
• Screens orders for drug-drug and drug-food interactions, dosing errors, allergies, incompatibilities, contraindications, and formulary availability.
• Consults with patients and health care professionals regarding therapeutic and policy matters involving prescriptions and medication orders.
• Provides quality-control oversight of automated dispensing equipment and pharmacy technicians.
• Applies innovative approaches to promote cost containment.

Administrative and Quality Functions

• Plans work, establishes priorities, and coordinates clinical activities with pharmacy and geriatrics leadership.
• Maintains effective communication with professional disciplines and pharmacy services regarding drug therapy, pharmaceutical problems, and operating procedures.
• Identifies cost impacts associated with prescribing patterns and recommends corrective actions to pharmacy and medical center leadership.
• Conducts drug utilization evaluations as requested by the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.
• Evaluates and documents reported adverse drug events.
• Serves on medical center committees and performs other administrative duties as assigned.

Advancement of the Profession

• With appropriate approval, collaborates on research related to pharmaceutical care and the clinical or economic impact of therapeutic interventions.
• May design studies, seek funding, analyze and report findings, prepare manuscripts or abstracts, and develop case studies for presentation or publication.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Telework: Situational (Ad-hoc) as determined by the agency policy.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 55512-0, 55513-0

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

a. Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Noncitizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.)

b. 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: (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.)

(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).

c. 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.

(1) 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. For grade levels above the GS-11, the candidate must be licensed.

d. Grandfathering Provision. 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

In addition to the basic requirements for employment in paragraph 2, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

(1) GS-11 Pharmacist

(a) Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. (NOTE: See exception to licensure requirement in subparagraph 2c(1) above.)

(b) Assignment. Pharmacists at this grade level serve in a developmental capacity.

(2) GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Full Performance Level)

(a) Experience or Education. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must meet one of the following:

1. 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, or
2. Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program.

(b) Assignment. A pharmacist in this assignment handles routine medication-related activities in accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and regulations. These include, but are not limited to: 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. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs):

1. Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice.
2. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff.
3. Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security.
4. Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

Preferred Experience: Experience in consultant pharmacy, geriatric pharmacotherapy, or a similar field is 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 GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-12.

Physical Requirements:

The position requires compliance with all department, medical center, and VHA policies and procedures. The incumbent must be able to walk, stand, and sit for extended periods; climb stairs; stock shelves; lift up to 50 pounds; transport pharmacy items; and use the hands, wrists, and arms to perform pharmacy-related duties. All duties must be performed safely, securely, and within established Pharmacy Department guidelines while providing care to Veterans.

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/.

• 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 identification 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.