Pharmacist - Clinical Specialist (Pain Management)

Veterans Health Administration•East Orange, NJ

19h•Onsite

About The Position

The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (Pain Management) functions as a therapeutic expert in drug use and utilization. The specialist monitors medication use, recommends appropriate drug utilization, practices within an established scope of practice, and educates medical center staff and providers. The position is located at the East Orange, New Jersey campus and serves as an expert and consultant to the Chief of Pharmacy Service on medication-related issues in opioid and pain management. The specialist provides medication reconciliation, serves as the primary liaison between Pharmacy Service and Pain Management Service, and participates in direct patient care and interdisciplinary pain-management activities. The specialist supports facility and VISN pain-management programs, committees, teams, and initiatives. This includes implementing national policy and clinical practice guidance concerning pain management, opioid safety, risk mitigation, overdose education and naloxone distribution, and opioid use disorder; supporting data-based patient risk reviews and community-provider prescribing reviews; and improving access to stepped-care, tertiary, interventional, and integrative pain services. The role also supports veteran outreach, including women's health initiatives, and collaborates with Academic Detailing and other stakeholders to monitor and share clinical best practices. Clinical pharmacy duties include assessing patients and medication therapy, recommending drug selection, initiating or adjusting doses, reviewing laboratory results, ordering laboratory tests as required, and monitoring treatment effectiveness and adverse events. The specialist ensures prescriptions and actions meet patient-specific eligibility criteria and that formulary, non-formulary, and applicable national, VISN, and local requirements are followed. The position reports medication safety and quality issues and contributes to measuring and reporting program outcomes. The full-performance level is GS-13. Work is performed in inpatient units, clinic settings, and outpatient/inpatient pharmacy settings. The schedule is variable and rotating. Telework is eligible on an ad-hoc basis only; the position is not virtual.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship, except where appointment of a non-citizen is permitted under VA policy when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
Proficiency in spoken and written English.
A baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) from an ACPE-accredited college or school of pharmacy, or qualifying foreign pharmacy education with FPGEC certification, including the FPGEE and TOEFL iBT.
A full, current, and unrestricted pharmacist license in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia; maintain current registration if required for licensure.
Professional pharmacy-practice experience demonstrating relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities, or qualifying accredited residency/fellowship training substituted for experience on a year-for-year basis.
For the grade determination, one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in addition to GS-12 requirements.
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 in the program area or clinical specialty.
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.
Must meet pre-employment screening and onboarding requirements, including background/security investigation, drug testing when applicable, and pre-employment physical examination.
Must complete required application documentation and participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to written certification for continued employment.
Work requires prolonged sitting, standing, and walking; bending, twisting, and carrying items up to 25 pounds; and fine motor skills for product manipulation.
Patient-facing work requires universal and other normal safety precautions, safe work habits, and use of PPE when exposed to contagious disease or contaminated drainage.

Nice To Haves

Ability to function independently and collaborate effectively in a clinic and team environment.
Qualifications to serve as a PGY2 pain-management preceptor.
Completion of a PGY2 pain-management residency, or a PGY1 residency with significant pain-management experience; extensive clinical pain-management experience without residency training may also be considered.
Board certification is highly desirable.
Existing or in-progress DEA licensure is preferred.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with VISN partners, facility pain leaders, Academic Detailing pharmacists, Pain Management Team and Pain Clinic members, and other facility stakeholders.
Support the Pain Committee and its subcommittees, task forces, and work groups.
Develop processes and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with national pain-management, opioid-safety, risk-mitigation, OEND, and OUD policies and requirements.
Support reviews of community-provider opioid prescribing practices as required by MISSION Act Section 131.
Support OSI reviews, data-based risk reviews for opioid-exposed patients, including STORM reviews, and other interdisciplinary pain-care forums.
Support and track implementation of the Stepped Care Model for Pain Management, including facility Pain Management Team/Pain Clinic services and access to tertiary pain care within the VISN.
Facilitate implementation of the OUD stepped-care model, particularly Step 1 of the SCOUTT program expansion within Pain Management Teams and Pain Clinics.
Support access to tertiary advanced diagnostic and therapeutic interventional pain-care modalities and integrative health modalities.
Support and facilitate veteran outreach events, including women's health pain-management initiatives.
Identify opioid-safety and risk-mitigation improvements, develop strategic planning with facility leadership, and support initiatives such as PDMP compliance, urine drug screening, and targeted population management.
Collaborate to evaluate acute pain prescribing and facility processes, and lead improvement opportunities.
Track facility dashboards for pain management, opioid safety, and PDMP, including access, productivity, workload, and staffing measures.
Measure and report quality and compliance outcomes related to pain management, opioid safety, and PDMP.
Partner with Academic Detailing and other stakeholders to monitor and disseminate best clinical practices for PMOP initiatives.
Participate in VISN Pain Committee and Community of Practice meetings and other VISN-directed activities as appropriate.
Facilitate facility responses to formal, sensitive inquiries concerning pain and opioid safety raised through Patient Advocacy, executive leadership, VISN, Congress, or other channels.
Serve as an expert and consultant to the Chief of Pharmacy Service on medication-related opioid and pain-management issues.
Provide medication reconciliation and act as the primary liaison between Pharmacy Service and Pain Management Service.
Educate and orient medical staff and other health professionals on pharmacy policies and procedures related to medication use.
Participate in the care team and monitor patients' therapy as it relates to pharmaceutical care.
Ensure prescriptions and actions meet patient-specific eligibility criteria and follow National Formulary, Non-Formulary, and applicable national, VISN, and local criteria or treatment algorithms.
Promote medication-use safety and efficacy by reporting adverse drug effects, medication errors, and other quality issues.
Monitor medication selection and dosage in light of patients' clinical conditions and diagnoses; initiate and adjust doses based on clinical evaluation.
Perform physical assessments and use laboratory data to support drug-therapy recommendations and dosage adjustments.
Review laboratory results to assess therapeutic effectiveness and monitor for adverse events; order laboratory tests as required.
Provide expert drug-use recommendations for the pain patient population.
Perform additional duties as assigned.