Pharmacy Technician (Controlled Substances)

The Pharmacy Controlled Substance Technician is a certified, highly specialized technician responsible for first-line management of all controlled substances handled by the pharmacy at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, SC.

Duties of this position include, but are not limited to, all services involving receipt, storage, fill, dispense, transfer, inventory, administration, waste, or destruction of controlled substances per Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Handbooks and Directives, as well as all Office of Inspector General (OIG) Directives and Health System Policy.

Major duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Conducts inventories twice per week, or as needed, in accordance with regulations and policies.
• Assist Controlled Substance Compliance Inspectors in completing monthly inspections.
• Effectively coordinates, manages, completes, and documents the purchasing of all prescription and non-prescription drug products and supplies by maintaining a comprehensive knowledge of the procurement and formulary process.
• Maintains, verifies, stocks, and replaces outdated medications from stock, including inpatient wards, inpatient/outpatient storage cabinets, and vaults.
• Reads and interprets prescriptions from the veteran's electronic health record system (EHRS) or in written form.
• Reviews prescription orders for technical accuracy.
• Prepares medications and ensures the orderable item matches the item being dispensed in drug, strength, quantity, and appropriate supply.
• Dispenses medications and sterile products in accordance with all regulations, policies, and procedures for safe medication distribution.
• Assists in quality improvement projects as an individual or on assigned teams to improve pharmacy service.
• Completes monthly inspection(s) of all assigned internal and external pharmacy areas as delegated by supervisor and/or as determined by the needs of the pharmacy.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 10am - 6:30pm. Work schedule is subject to change based on agency needs.
Telework: Not available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 63701F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
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:

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

• English Language Proficiency: You must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).

• 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.

• Certification: For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:

  • Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).

  • National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs:

  • 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.).

  • 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.

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).

Grandfather Provision. A Pharmacy Technician employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (11/7/2023) 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. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:

1. Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
2. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
3. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
4. Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
5. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-08, you must possess at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-07).

Preferred Experience: Controlled substance experience

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-08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-08.

Physical Requirements: See VA Handbook 5019

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.