Clinical Pharmacist

Summary

The Clinical Pharmacist provides distributive and clinical Pharmacy support service to medicine, surgery, and specialty services within the Western New York Healthcare System.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English.

Grade Determinations: GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Full Performance Level)

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

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.
• 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.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

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

Preferred Experience:

• 3 years Hospital Pharmacist Experience.

Duties Include:

• Fills medication orders by selecting the correct drug and dosage form, reducing the drug from bulk to the quantity prescribed, compounding when necessary, then packaging and labeling the drug in an appropriate manner.
• Responsible for the dispensing of drugs, especially controlled substances, investigational and cytotoxic drugs, to assure that legal and agency regulations and instructions are followed, that proper and complete recordkeeping is maintained, and that the drug storage areas are stocked, safe, and secure.
• Reviews the patient medication profile prior to dispensing drugs and medications to ensure safe and appropriate medication use.
• Responsible for special formulations and for extemporaneous compounding of routine and special medications requiring complex compounding procedures.
• Initiates medication orders for patients per approved protocol, established guidelines, or provider consultation.
• Responsible for providing care as required to meet patient care needs and to maintain competence in your areas of pharmacy practice.
• Identifies drug-induced problems that may be affecting the patient, takes appropriate steps to manage these problems, and/or communicates these findings to his/her primary provider (includes drug side effects, allergic reactions, toxicities, dosage regimens, and non-compliance concerns).
• Reviews and recommends therapeutic care plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic, and most economical medication treatments, recognizing the special drug considerations of the age and stage of life for the patient, and communicates this plan to the patient's primary provider.
• Counsels patients and family members concerning directions for use, side effects, precautions, and the need to strictly follow the regimen.
• Monitors patient profiles and ensures information is correct and up-to-date. This may include addition of or correction of documented allergies/ADRs, addition of or discontinuation of non-VA medications, and discontinuation of orders per current scope of practice.
• Provides consultation to physicians, nurses, and other health professionals on medication management issues. This may include formal rounds, informal rounds, formal consults, and informal consults and may be verbal, telephone, or written consultations.
• Administers and documents administration of immunizations per current VAWNYHS practice if in possession of a valid immunization certificate from their state of licensure.
• Serves as a liaison between their area of practice and the pharmacy department, helping to solve problems, clarifying orders, improving processes and communications to improve inter-service relationships.
• In contacts with patients, relatives, staff members, demonstrates a concerned, compassionate, and professional attitude to enhance the image of pharmacy, the medical center, and the VA.
• Deals with difficult situations involving all levels of contacts (patient, nurse, physician, pharmacy staff, etc.) including the ability to identify key elements of a situation and weigh the relative importance of issues, and cope with the dynamics of changing situations to maintain performance.
• Responds to multiple problems or situations simultaneously with limited time and resources and successfully resolves clinical care needs.
• Assists in the orientation and training of new pharmacy employees, pharmacy residents, pharmacy students, medical residents, medical students, attending providers, and pharmacy volunteers.
• Functions as a consultant to the medical staff on pharmacotherapeutics, pharmacokinetics, and toxicology via effective written and oral communication.
• Facilitates clinical portions of preceptorship programs for pharmacy interns and externs.
• Performs in-service training to pharmacy, medicine, nursing, and other disciplines as scheduled.
• Participates in the DUE/MUE process by assisting in determination of problem areas, criteria development, analysis, and follow-up as deemed appropriate (e.g., education, review, etc.).
• Documents all patient-centered workload according to current VISN2 Pharmacy guidelines.
• Dispenses investigational and research drugs to patients as required in accordance with VA policy.
• Participates in pharmacy research to optimize operational efficiency (e.g., in the testing of new VISTA/CPRS or other software, use of pharmacy technicians in functions formerly provided by pharmacists, etc.).
• Checks, guides, and advises lower-grade co-workers and trainees on the receipt, interpretation, compounding, and filling of medication orders.
• Effectively manages and supervises Pharmacy Technicians in their areas of responsibility.

Work Schedule:

Week 1: Monday-Thursday 8:00pm-7:00am, Friday-Sunday 7:00pm-7:00am - Week 2: off. May be changed based on the needs of the service.

Telework:

Not Available

Virtual:

This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #:

21L10A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives:

Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS):

Not Authorized

Key skills/competency:

• Clinical Pharmacy Practice
• Medication Therapy Management
• Patient Counseling
• Drug Information
• Formulary Management
• Adverse Drug Event (ADE) Monitoring
• Pharmacokinetics
• Toxicology
• Pharmacy Law and Regulations
• Interprofessional Collaboration