Pharmacy Technician (Evenings)
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Summary Pharmacy technicians at this level are nationally certified & can work autonomously using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties at the Eastern Colorado Health Care System. These pharmacy technicians mentor & train lower graded pharmacy technicians in the practice setting. They assist advanced pharmacy technicians & participate in performance improvement initiatives. At this level, they use independent judgement to perform the full range of duties in the pharmacy. Responsibilities Duties &skills needed to be successful in this position include, but are not limited to: Required to have principles, practices, concepts &theories providing for sound independent work. Responsible for computerized prescription process &input of prescriptions &medication orders or electronic equivalent. Resolves pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans &external customers. Trains developmental pharmacy technicians &students. Dispenses medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies &procedures to ensure safe medication distribution. General Accurately interpret, fills, &prepares prescriptions with appropriate medications &or medical supplies for pharmacist verification. Receives, checks, rotates, &places in stock all items received from pharmacy procurement section &identifies &reconciles any discrepancies to assure correct items have been received. Maintains a drivers license &meets facility to operate a Government Vehicle if performing inspections or delivering medications to VA ECHCS clinics. Compounds and/or reconstitutes oral or external medications (non-sterile). This includes calculating &converting to proper weights &measures the amount of drug or solution to be used for final pharmacist verification. Demonstrates the ability to work under a variety of circumstances to maximize group productivity &quality. Maintains national certification with PTCB or ExCPT Complies with all VHA, Medical Center, &Pharmacy regulations, directives, policies, &procedures. May be assigned to work in other areas of pharmacy service as deemed necessary by the Chief, Pharmacy Service or Supervisor Controlled Substances Activities These functions will be supported in the absence of the controlled substance technician (i.e., after hours, weekends, &leave). Accurately interpret, fills, &readies prescriptions with appropriate medications for pharmacist verification Documents all controlled substance related transactions as indicated by VA &DEA guidelines. Complies with all laws, regulations, directives, policies, &procedures applying to the dispensing, storage, transfer, inventory, &accountability of controlled substances. Inpatient Pharmacy Activities: Sterile Product Compounding Follow USP 797/800 Guidelines for the compounding of all sterile preparations, including ophthalmic, cardioplegic, TPN, hazardous, large & small volume IV solutions, PCAs, etc. Manufactures uncomplicated and/or complicated parenteral admixtures to be delivered in the form of large volume, small volume, infusion syringe or other as required. Correctly interprets physician orders, selects, &measures appropriate ingredients, mixes ingredients in a safe &effective manner, inspects the final product for accuracy, suitability, &elegance, labels the product, maintains records of the manufacturing process, &supplies the product for pharmacist verification &delivery. Unit Dose Medication Management Performs review of medications prepared by another pharmacy employee to be dispensed to hospital areas. Inspects packaged items for accuracy &suitability before submitting for final check, prior to distribution to hospital areas. Assures repackaged dosage forms are labeled according to USP &VA standards &attains a final review by a pharmacist. Automatic Replenishment/Ward Stock Correctly inventories, assesses, &determines the need for floor stock &external medication. Assures that each area that is inspected meets established standards for appropriate drug storage conditions including drug security for inspection &accreditation. Outpatient Pharmacy Activities Prescription Assembly Assembles prescriptions properly with the correct drug, strength, quantity, auxiliary labels, &prescription labels. for window dispensing &mail delivery Assures that the correct medication is filled by using bar code scanning on stock bottles. Window Pick-Up Verifies the patient's identification following the Medical Center's policies (i.e., double patient identifiers) Verifies that the patient has received all prescriptions (i.e., refrigerated, controlled substances, bulk medications, etc.) Follows internal procedures for dispensing medications to internal VA staff (HBPC, ICMR, inpatient staff, etc) Mail Packaging Utilizes &comprehends the mail shipping programs used by the facility (i.e., USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.) for overnight delivery of non-controlled &controlled prescriptions. Packages prescriptions appropriately, as to assure that packages are not damaged within transit (i.e., bubble wrap, ice blocks, insulated containers, etc.) Medication Delivery Delivers &dispenses medication to patient bedside or patient nurse following facility policies &procedures. Any other duties as assigned to meet the needs of the Medical Center Work Schedule: 7 on 7 off evenings, 1230-2300 & 1030-2300 Functional Statement #: 59185A Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. 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 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). OR National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT). Grandfathering Provision. Pharmacy technicians employed in VHA on the effective date 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. 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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: Pharmacy Technician, GS-07 Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower 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: PTCB as a CPhT. OR NHA as a ExCPT Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work. Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent. Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers. Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students. Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution. 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 07. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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/. Additional Information During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
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