Pharmacist Service Chief

Description:

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Requirements:

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:

• (a) 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 Web site 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.)
• (b) Graduates 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 and unrestricted 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 is a requirement for maintaining full, current, and unrestricted licensure. A pharmacist who has, or has ever had, any license(s) revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with 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).

Grade Determinations GS-15 :

Experience. In addition to the GS-14 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs):

1. Skill in persuading others and gaining cooperation to accomplish goals.
2. Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing regarding complex clinical and technical issues.
3. Skill in utilizing regulatory and quality standards to develop and implement operational programs.
4. Skill in managing multiple people or programs.
5. Skill in utilizing available resources to support the missions and goals of the organization.
6. Ability to plan, organize and direct the functions of the pharmacy staff.

Preferred Experience:

• Manages a complex medical center based pharmacy program that is defined as having multiple practice settings (e.g. hospital ambulatory care, long-term care, behavior health care) that require Joint Commission review as separate standards
• Has responsibility for pharmacy services at one or more of the following: Community-Based Outpatient Centers, Rural Health Program, Domiciliary, or provides dispensing and/or clinical services to State Veterans Homes
• Presence of advanced clinical pharmacy programs that include pharmacist(s) that have approved scopes of practice with prescriptive privileges
• The Pharmacy Service provides clinical pharmacist services to three (3) or more specialty areas, such as hemodialysis, oncology, operating room, etc.

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-15.

Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 pounds), light carrying (under 15 pounds), reaching above shoulder, walking (up to 2 hours), standing (up to 2 hours), repeatedly bending (up to 1 hour), ability to distinguish basic colors, and the ability to distinguish shades of color.