Pharmacy Technician - Inpatient

This position functions primarily for the inpatient care areas of Pharmacy Service under the supervision of a registered pharmacist. The Inpatient Pharmacy Technician is responsible on a rotating basis for provision of medications to hospitalized patients using the unit dose, automated dispensing system, and IV admixture preparation.

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The Inpatient Pharmacy Technician will perform inventory inspection, restocking, and ordering functions as well as providing necessary drug supplies to operating rooms, emergency department and ward drug stock areas.

Major Duties include but are not limited to the following:

Patient profile access:

1. Pharmacy technicians will have access to patient profile, to assure missing dose requests appropriately.
2. Pharmacy technicians will compare the requested missing med against the active medication profile.
3. Pharmacy technicians will notify pharmacists of any discrepancies, questions, or concerns regarding the patient.

Medication Management System:

1. Reads and interprets prescriptions; obtains proper medication or material in the proper strength and dosage form; determines proper amount and counts, pours, or measures the medications; affixes proper label; and records required data on Pharmacy's copy of prescription/order. After a final check by a pharmacist, dispenses medication in ambulatory care, pass, or discharge situations. For unit dose medications, either fills unit dose cart or performs final review of medication prepared by another technician to be dispensed to inpatient areas.
2. Inventories and replenishes medication trays for placement into emergency crash carts
3. Collects drug use evaluation data for quality improvement purposes as assigned.
4. Operates and maintains pharmacy equipment to include automated unit dose dispensing equipment, IV admixture compounders, and remote dispensing cabinets (e.g., Pyxis).
5. Compounds and/or reconstitutes oral or external medications (non-sterile). This includes calculating and converting to proper weights and measures the amount of dr Conducts monthly ward inspections of patient care areas.

Automatic Replenish/Ward Stock:

1. Uses the AR/WS computer program to generate a list of ward medication needs. Processes requests for ward medications, prepares and delivers products according to pharmacy operating procedures.
2. When assigned, will prepare reports from the various Pyxis machines so that a restocking delivery can be prepared. Restocks these carts with the correct drug and quantities.

Controlled Substances:

1. Prepares and fills all inpatient orders and requests for controlled substances.
2. Receive new stock and returned stock into inventory by ensuring the accuracy of controlled drug records.
3. Conducts regularly scheduled inventories and interacts with controlled substance inspection officials.
4. Ensures the pharmacy as well as all delivery transactions for controlled substances are in accordance with applicable controlled substance security regulations.

Intravenous Fluids:

1. Prepares IV admixtures including TPN/PPN, piggybacks, and other sterile products following proper aseptic technique within laminar IV hoods or biological safety cabinets.
2. Prepares IV admixtures in accordance with USP797 principles and other pertinent pharmacy policy and procedures following proper gloving and gowning. Assists with quality checks as required by the USP797 guidelines including hood culturing, product sampling and testing for bacterial growth, and air quality sampling.
3. For the preparation of cancer chemotherapy admixtures, follows special personal safety precautions including the ability to handle accidental chemotherapy spills.
4. Delivers prepared IV medications to the appropriate ward or other location after check by the pharmacist.

Work Schedule: Compressed schedule: 8 days on, 6 days off; 1:30 - midnight, weekends and holidays
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not eligible for Telework
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 12267F
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:

• A. Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• B. English Proficiency: Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• C. Certification: For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
  1. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR
  2. National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
• 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 above, applicants must meet the following grade requirements.

Experience Requirement. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level of GS-6.

• Creditable Experience. To be creditable, a candidate must possess the required knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the scope of pharmacy technician practice. The candidate's experience must be evidenced by active professional practice. (Active professional practice means paid/nonpaid employment as a professional pharmacy technician.)
• Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week. For example, one week of full-time credit is equivalent to two weeks of half-time work.
• Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to pharmacy technician experience at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-07 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:

1. Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.
2. Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.
3. Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.
4. Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.
5. Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.
6. Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.

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 7. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is 7.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.

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 evaluation
• 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.