Pharmacy Technician

The pharmacy technician will provide technical support services within the pharmacy department at the Tallahassee VA Clinic, including providing customer service to Veterans and providers related to prescription needs, preparing prescriptions for patients in various settings by counting, pouring, weighing, measuring, or mixing the medications, dispensing and delivering medications, and using automated systems and electronic health records.

Duties included but not limited to:

• Provide patients and/or caregivers with medication and supplies, as ordered by the provider.
• Perform technical support work in the pharmacy under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist and/or a full performance level pharmacy technician.
• Fill prescriptions utilizing automation.
• Package and/or dispense medications and supplies after a final check by a pharmacist.
• Answer questions from pharmacy and non-pharmacy personnel regarding drug distribution.
• Perform monthly inspections of assigned areas to ensure proper storage of medications and removal of soon-to-expire or expired medications.
• Receive, check, rotate, and stock items received from pharmacy procurement section, identifying and reconciling any discrepancies to ensure the correct items have been received.
• Monitor refrigerator, freezer, and/or room temperature and humidity in assigned areas, responding to alerts with appropriate correction or escalation as indicated.

Work Schedule: 8 hour rotational shifts including evenings, night, weekends and holidays
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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:

Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

Education or Experience.

• None required.
• For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level.

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.

Grandfathering Provision. Pharmacy technicians employed in VHA on the effective date (11/07/23) of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.


Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for appointment in paragraph 5, VA HR staff must use the following criteria to determine the appropriate grade assignment of candidates.

Pharmacy Technician, GS-03.
Education and Experience.

• One year of post-secondary education. OR
• Six months of general experience. OR
• Student Technician. A student enrolled in an approved nationally accredited pharmacy technician program for an occupation identified in 38 U.S.C. 7405(a)(1)(A) or (B) may be appointed on a temporary full-time, part-time or intermittent basis under the provisions of38 U.S.C. 7405(a)(1)(D) for a period not to exceed two years or the duration of the individual's program.

Assignment. Employees at the entry-level are developmental trainees. The pharmacy technician trainee is performing routine pharmacy duties under direct supervision of higher graded technicians to learn the basic functions of pharmacy operations.


Pharmacy Technician, GS-04.
Education and Experience.

• Completion of two years of post-secondary coursework related to pharmacy (e.g., 12 semester hours of science and mathematics courses). OR
• Completion of one of the following: (1) Six months of experience, that demonstrated knowledge of medication or medical field practice. OR (2) Successful completion of a military or nationally recognized pharmacy technician education/training program. American Society of Health System Pharmacists® (ASHP), American Pharmacist Association (APHA), Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), PTCB or NHA are examples of acceptable professional organizations recognizing such training programs. NOTE: Training courses recognized by PTCB and NHA are not actual certifications. OR (3) One year of experience equivalent to next lower grade level.

Assignments. Employees at this grade level serve in a pharmacy technician developmental position. Pharmacy technicians at this level perform duties such as dispensing prescriptions at the pharmacy window and prepacking medications.


Pharmacy Technician, GS-05.
Education or Experience.

• Successful completion of four years post-secondary education with courses related to pharmacy (e.g., 48 semester hours of science, mathematics, pharmacy) or a bachelor's degree. OR
• An associate's degree in pharmacy technician or technology (48 semester hours of concentrated pharmacy technician training). OR
• One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

Assignments. Pharmacy technicians at this developmental level perform all duties expected of employees at lower grade levels; however, they are expected to exercise greater judgement, require less supervision and operate in accordance with all established policies and procedures. Pharmacy technicians at this grade level will fill orders and dispense/deliver medications using automated systems. These technicians require oversight of assigned duties by full performance level technicians and or pharmacists.


Pharmacy Technician, GS-06.
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:

• Knowledge of Federal and state laws related to pharmacy practice.
• Knowledge of preparation, storage and distribution of medication products including those requiring special handling and documentation.
• Ability to use pharmacy information systems or operate pharmacy dispensing equipment.
• Knowledge of basic inventory procedures.
• 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.


The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-6.

Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion involving moderate lifting/carrying (15-44 pounds) and walking/standing for 4 hours. The work also involves working with hands in water, work closely with others, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other, ability to distinguish basic colors, hearing (aid may be permitted), use of fingers, both hands required, and be emotionally and mentally stable.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

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.
• 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.