Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - PACT

Veterans Health Administration • Albert Lea, MN

4d • Onsite

About The Position

Serves as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) as part of an interdisciplinary healthcare team in the setting of Primary Care as a member of the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). The CPS is responsible for providing evidence-based pharmaceutical care service, helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interaction with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams. The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) is a licensed pharmacist, preferably with a Pharm.D. or equivalent experience. The CPS is responsible for providing and documenting pharmaceutical care of assigned veterans within PACT programs and providing coverage as needed for unassigned veterans. The CPS serves as an advanced practice provider to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy as outlined in the individual's Scope of Practice. The CPS promotes and manages drug therapy based on current clinical knowledge consistent with policies established at the national, VISN, and local levels. The 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 lab and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• 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.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period.
• 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)
• 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.
• 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)
• 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.
• Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• Part-time Experience. Part-time experience as a professional pharmacist is credited according to its relationship to the full-time workweek.

Nice To Haves

• Pharm.D. or equivalent experience
• Recent experience in a current or previous job (including residency training) that includes direct patient care and comprehensive medication management responsibilities
• Advanced pharmacy degree (PharmD)
• PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency
• PGY2 specialty residency or equivalent experience in the specialty applicable to this position
• Applicable board certification

Responsibilities

• Functions as an advanced practice provider with a scope of practice (SOP) to provide comprehensive medication management (CMM) for identified VAMC facilities as outlined in VHA Handbook 1109.11, Clinical Pharmacy Services.
• Executing therapeutic plans using the safest and most cost-effective medication treatments
• Performing objective assessments necessary to ensure the patient's appropriate clinical responses to therapy
• Ordering, subsequent review, and action on appropriate lab tests and other diagnostic studies necessary to monitor, support, and modify the patient's drug therapy
• Ordering and prescribing medications, vaccines, devices, and supplies to include: initiation, continuation, discontinuation, monitoring, and altering therapy
• Prescribing or administering controlled substances will be included in the scope of practice only if the CPS is authorized by the DEA and their state licensing board to do so; CPS must also comply with the limitations and restrictions on these authorities
• Ordering consults and referrals, as appropriate, to maximize positive drug therapy outcomes; examples include, but are not limited to, referrals for routine care or assessment to clinical nutrition professionals, prosthetics, social workers, integrated mental health professionals, or other specialty areas
• Maintains work flow patterns that assure timely delivery of outpatient ambulatory care pharmacy services, ensures accurate and timely documentation of encounters and follow up orders.
• May oversee technical and nonprofessional staff.
• Provides guidance in the processing of prior authorization drug consult requests utilizing national VA PBM criteria for use and local criteria documenting reasons for approval or denial and suggesting alternative preferred therapies where appropriate.
• Participates in quality improvement activities, pharmacoeconomic initiatives (e.g., drug conversions), committees, and workgroups in support of the pharmacy service strategic plan in all areas of the outpatient pharmacy section.
• Contributes to the quality assurance of the MVAHCS Clinical Pharmacy Service.
• Contributes to research as assigned by Clinical Pharmacy Managers.
• Contributes to the evaluation plan of the MVAHCS Clinical Pharmacy Service as requested by the Clinical Pharmacy Managers. This will include evaluation of both process and outcome measures.

Benefits

• A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package.
• As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level