Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

Veterans Health Administration • Hemet, CA

7d • Onsite

About The Position

The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) at Loma Linda VA Health Care System provides expert medication management within Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT). The CPS works at the highest level of clinical practice and independently provides direct patient care within a medical-center-defined scope of practice. The role includes initiating, modifying, or discontinuing medication therapy and serving as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management.

The CPS designs, implements, assesses, monitors, and documents therapeutic plans using effective, least toxic, and economical medication treatments. The specialist works with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams to support patient-centered outcomes; performs physical assessments; and orders laboratory and other tests to evaluate medication efficacy and toxicity. The position also contributes to clinical pharmacy activities in primary care, pharmacy quality assurance, staff and learner education, and interdepartmental coordination.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship.
• Graduate of an ACPE-accredited college or school of pharmacy with a BS in Pharmacy and/or Pharm.D.; foreign pharmacy graduates must provide FPGEC certification, including the FPGEE and TOEFL iBT requirements.
• Full, current, and unrestricted pharmacist license in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
• One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
• Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for the program area.
• Ability to solve problems and coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes.
• Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or pharmacy specialty.
• Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing drug-therapy outcomes, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical examination and background/security investigation.
• Must complete required onboarding and application documentation; selected applicants are subject to urinalysis testing and seasonal influenza vaccination requirements.
• Must serve a 1- or 2-year trial period, subject to written certification for continued employment.

Nice To Haves

• One year of PACT experience or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Prescribe, monitor, and adjust medications under an established scope of practice.
• Obtain pertinent medical history and accurate medication-related history from patients and through chart review.
• Order, monitor, and interpret toxicology screens and other laboratory tests, and follow up on treatment actions based on results.
• Identify drug-related problems, including side effects, allergic reactions, toxicities, improper dosage regimens, and noncompliance.
• Design, implement, assess, monitor, and document therapeutic plans and medication treatments.
• Refer patients to other services for additional care when appropriate, including mental health and specialty care.
• Participate in training and in-servicing pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, and other medical-center personnel.
• Precept pharmacy students and residents in accordance with established protocols.
• Contribute to planning and implementing a pharmacy-service and pharmacy-team quality assurance program.
• Contribute to planning, maintaining, expanding, and coordinating clinical pharmacy activities in primary care.
• Maintain interdepartmental relationships through committee membership, problem resolution, and cooperation with other services.
• Advise medical staff, nursing staff, technicians, and students on drug usage, interactions, overdoses, and compliance.
• Research drug information using appropriate references.
• Perform physical assessments and order laboratory and other tests to determine medication-therapy efficacy and toxicity.
• Contribute to budgetary execution in the assigned program area.

Benefits

• Comprehensive federal employee benefits package for employees and their families.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior federal work or military service, subject to approval.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree