Summary

The Ambulatory Care Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP) works independently at the highest level of clinical practice in Ambulatory Care areas as an integral part of the interdisciplinary healthcare team. Serve as a licensed independent CPP to manage medication therapy within their practice area. The practice areas this posting include: Mental Health - Pain Management - and Infusion Services (Specialty Clinic).

Qualifications

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
• Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) - and 7407(d)
• Education: 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 website 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.)
• OR - Graduate 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)
• Licensure: Full - current - unrestricted - and unexpired 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 a requirement for maintaining full - current - and unrestricted licensure
• A pharmacist who has or has eve had - any license(s) revoked - suspended - denied - restricted - limited - or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only IAW the provisions in VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - Chapter 3 - section B - paragraph 16
• 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)
• Creditable Experience: (1) Knowledge of Professional Pharmacy Practices
• To be creditable - the experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge - skills - and abilities associated with professional pharmacy practice
• Professional practice means paid/non-paid employment as a professional or unlicensed graduate pharmacist as defined by the appropriate licensing board
• (2) Residency and Fellowship Training
• Residency and fellowship training programs in a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for- year basis
• The pharmacy residency program must be accredited by the American Society of Health- System Pharmacists (ASHP)
• A fellowship program that is not accredited by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) will need to have comparable standards for experience to be creditable (Professional Standards Board refers to the Deputy Chief Consultant for Professional Practice for the determination)
• (3) Quality of Experience
• Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to pharmacy experience at the next lower level
• Experience as a Graduate Pharmacist is creditable provided the candidate was used as a professional pharmacist (under supervision) and subsequently passed the appropriate licensure examination
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the GS-12 requirements - must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level - GS-12
• An example of one year of experience at the GS-12 level would be working as a Clinical Pharmacist 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
• Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
• The clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) functions at the highest level of clinical practice - works independently under their scope of practice as defined by the individual medical center to directly care for patients
• A CPS plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider who functions to initiate - modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services
• This includes - but is not limited to - the following: designing - implementing - assessing - monitoring and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective - least toxic and most economical medication treatments
• helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients - providers - and interdisciplinary teams in assigned areas
• performing physical assessments
• and ordering laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy
• Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions
• Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area
• Ability to solve problems - coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise
• Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy
• Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies - including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters
• Preferred Experience: Completion of an ASHP accredited PGY1 residency or 3 years of clinical experience Completion of an ASP accredited PGY2 residency or equivalent 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-13 Physical Requirements: May require light to moderate lifting and carrying
• up to 44 pounds
• Requires routine standing - bending and stooping/squatting
• As needed - pushing - walking - standing - reaching over shoulder - use of fingers - both hands and legs required - walking and standing up to two hours per tour - near vision correctable at 13' to 16' to Jaeer 1 to 4 - far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other - hearing (aid permitted)
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Duties

• VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws Duties include but are not limited to: Treatment planning and education as well as toxicity monitoring and symptom management for veterans receiving oral chemotherapeutic agents
• Providing extensive education for patients/caregivers including proper handling - storage and disposal of chemotherapyagents
• Works with procurement and supervisory staff to ensure the timely availability of anticancer therapies and assistance with strategies to best mitigate drug shortages
• Recommend or modify patient's medication therapy based on clinical presentation and/or care team review
• Recommend patient-specific drug therapy modifications to maximize patient response and minimize drug interactions - adverse drug effects - and polypharmacy while providing cost-effective treatment
• Face-to-face - video and telephone encounters with referred patients - for comprehensive medication management in identified practice areas
• Promotes and manages drug therapy based on current clinical knowledge that is consistent with polices and guidelines established at the national - VISN and local levels
• Demonstrate knowledge of clinical practice guidelines - The Joint Commission (TJC) standards - Veterans Affairs (VA) performance measures - VA Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) initiatives and will integrate these standards into practice
• Plan and provide patient related clinical pharmacy and drug information services in inpatient and outpatient oncology/hematology areas and takes responsible and appropriate actions to promote optimum - most cost effective - drug therapy
• Serve as an educational resource to trainees - hematology/oncology fellows and staff - including the chemotherapy nurses - oncology physicians and oncology NPs
• Perform physical assessment and medication reconciliation
• Order - perform - review - and analyze appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies necessary to monitor and support the patient's drug therapy
• Follow-up with patients on lab or test results to discuss the plan of therapy - i.e
• changes in medication therapy - monitoring - and additional testing requirements
• Develop and review monographs - protocols - and/or guidelines for oncology/hematology pharmacotherapy
• Evaluate physician's orders as to appropriateness and contacts the provider for recommendations to optimize therapy and follow medical center standards
• Prepare and dispense chemotherapy and adjunct pre-medications IAW requirements for hazardous and non-hazardous medication requirements
• Interpret laboratory values in the evaluation of patient care - recognizing significant abnormalities - and making dose adjustments or recommendations based on objective laboratory findings
• Prescribe - monitor - and adjust non-controlled adjunct medications as needed
• Coordinating - encouraging and monitoring involvement and participation in psychosocial and psychotherapy
• Communicate with team for next steps and coordination of care which may include ensuring needed appointments are scheduled - triaging unscheduled visits and facilitating urgent appointments with provider team members
• Accept urgent or same day patient visits including - but not limited to - patient medication review for polypharmacy - recent hospital or emergency department discharges - and co-managed care patients
• Review patient medication regimens for clinical effectiveness - drug selection - dosing - contraindications - side effects - potential drug interactions - and therapeutic outcomes as required
• Communicate findings with prescribers and provides appropriate alternatives to current treatment plans as needed
• Design - develop - and participate in programs to evaluate the quality and/or impact of services in the oncology/hematology area
• This includes conversion/cost-saving initiatives - new drug request reviews - policy revision - order set/protocol changes - and participating in medication use evaluation (MUE)
• Participate with Ongoing and Focused professional practice evaluation peer review programs
• Serve as an authority on drug usage - interactions - over-dosages - and compliance - to medical staff - nursing staff - technicians and students
• Use clinically appropriate and acceptable references to research drug information
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
• subject to change based on the needs of the service Telework: Ad-hoc (occasional - episodic - or short-term only) may be authorized by the Supervisor per Agency policy
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 94298-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized