Pharmacist (Pharmacy Supervisor)
What you'd do
The Outpatient Pharmacy Supervisor is responsible for all aspects of day-to-day planning, directing and coordinating the outpatient pharmacy service, including maintaining all aspects of pharmacy's involvement with accurate and timely processing of outpatient prescriptions. Responsibilities also include pharmacy benefits management, teaching/mentoring learners, supporting research, quality assurance, and staff development.
Major duties
This position is a supervisory member of the pharmacy service, is a core member of the outpatient pharmacy management team and supervises several outpatient pharmacists and technicians. This manager reports directly to the Associate Chief, Pharmacy Operations and collaborates closely with all members of pharmacy management team. A. Program Management Provides coordination of day-to-day activities of pharmacists, technicians, students, and volunteers assigned in outpatient pharmacy. Oversees the daily operation of outpatient pharmacy services including window and main prescription dispensing, repackaging, and special extemporaneous compounding. Assumes responsibility for the overall planning, operation and evaluation of outpatient medications delivered to the veteran. Establishes program goals and develops the operational plans and policies to achieve them. Assists procurement staff in the prompt and cost-effective purchase of medications and supplies and advises them of any unusual usage. Serves as a consultant within Pharmacy Service and with other facility health care staff in evaluating health care delivery to patients. B. Administration/Supervisory Directly supervises activities of the outpatient processing and dispensing area. Responsible for maintaining smooth work flow of day-to-day activities, and assumes responsibility of workflow performed under his/her supervision. Approves/disapproves leave requests, develops performance standards, trains or retrains, counsels, disciplines, evaluates and recommends employees for awards. Responsible for performance reviews for staff as assigned. Responsible for implementation, revision and interpretation of Pharmacy Service policies and procedures related to outpatient pharmacy and outpatient pharmacy contingency planning, and assures their compliance with USP 797, USP 800 and Joint Commission standards, and VACO directives and handbooks. The Outpatient Supervisor shares in the responsibility for recruiting and hiring qualified employees, as well as interviewing and selecting candidates for promotion according to federal laws, VA policies, and EEO requirements. C. Outpatient Clinical and Distributive Assists in the functions and responsibilities of all staff pharmacists and program managers. All staff pharmacist duties are part of the position. Provides some cross-coverage in outpatient pharmacy areas for urgent, unplanned leave and in enough frequency to assure clinical skills are maintained. Distributive: Reviews pharmacy orders to include patient information, dose, and route, frequency of administration, patient allergies, drug interactions, incompatibilities, duplication, and priority. Resolves prescribing and dispensing issues, including pharmacotherapeutic and formulary issues. Documents interventions as appropriate. Coordinates with non-VA physicians and VA primary care team on the appropriate VA National Formulary medications to consider for patients that are transferring their care to VA. Finishes, inputs, and/or verifies information and orders in the computer system as assigned. Accurately labels and dispenses medications appropriately for areas of use (outpatient, unit dose, and IV). Ensures proper dispensing documentation is completed. Identifies actual or potential drug-related problems prospectively, thereby eliminating duplication of efforts, reducing medication errors and increasing patient satisfaction. Dispenses controlled substances according to current policies, procedures, and standards established by DEA, FDA, VA, and Joint Commission. D. Education Identifies continuing education needs of staff and, where possible, provides programs/resources to help meet the identified needs. Assures that all necessary employee orientation and training occurs to assure continuance of high quality services. Collaborates with the Clinical/Education Pharmacy Program Manager on pharmacy training and development, to promote the learning experience and improve the performance of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy residents and students. E. Quality Assurance Collaborates with outpatient management team to plan, coordinate, develop, and implement all quality assurance activities for the outpatient pharmacy program with a lead role in areas such as controlled drug dispensing, error rates, and wait times. Assists other program managers for other pharmacy programs. Monitors activity in the outpatient areas and other pharmacy areas as assigned, to see that data is gathered and reports are submitted in a timely fashion. Work Schedule: Variable Telework: Ad-hoc telework may be available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
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 (1) 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.) (2) 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. NOTE: Individuals who have or have had multiple licenses and had any such license revoked for professional misconduct, professional incompetence or substandard care, or who surrendered such license after receiving written notice of potential termination of such license by the State for professional misconduct, professional incompetence, or substandard care, are not eligible for appointment to the position unless such revoked or surrendered license is fully restored (38 U.S.C. § 7402(f)). Effective November 30, 1999, this is a requirement for employment. This requirement does not apply to licensed pharmacists on VA rolls as of that date, provided they maintain continuous appointment and are not disqualified for employment by any subsequent revocations or voluntary surrenders of State license, registration or certification. English Language Proficiency Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). 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. (4) Part-time Experience. Part-time experience as a professional pharmacist is credited according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a pharmacist employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service. 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-13 Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Assignments. Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) 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. Pharmacy Supervisor. Responsible for the professional and administrative management of an assigned area in pharmacy service, to include budgetary execution. Such individuals have responsibilities for supervising multiple pharmacists and technicians. Manages people, maintains effective interdepartmental relations, and cooperates with other services to accomplish the medical facility's mission and goals. Develops performance standards, assures that the program area is compliant with all regulatory and accrediting body requirements, designs and implements orientation and training programs for staff, and develops and maintains systems to monitor the performance of staff activities. Develops policies and procedures relative to their assigned area. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to effectively supervise subordinate staff. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards pertaining to pharmacy Skill in managing people or programs. Preferred Experience: VA supervisory and VA inpatient and outpatient experience preferred 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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019
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