Pharmacy Technician

Veterans Health Administration•Salisbury, NC

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Pharmacy Technician—CSP Program Coordinator works as a certified, highly specialized technician coordinating Compounded Sterile Products (CSP) program initiatives under the direction of the CSP Pharmacy Supervisor. The position is based at the Salisbury VA Medical Center campus and requires periodic travel among sites where sterile compounding is performed. The coordinator supports compliance with sterile-compounding policies and regulatory requirements, maintains records and quality-assurance logs, develops procedural guidance and reference materials, and helps keep the program ready for accreditations, reviews, and inspections. The role includes identifying staff training needs, coordinating and conducting training and competency assessments, maintaining education records, and operating and troubleshooting CSP equipment and related technology. The position also performs sterile compounding and medication distribution. Using aseptic technique, the technician compounds hazardous and non-hazardous parenteral preparations, checks orders and ingredients, performs calculations and measurements, inspects and labels final products, and maintains compounding records. The technician helps maintain clean and compliant compounding areas, applies safe-handling practices, resolves questionable situations with pharmacists, and contributes to quality-improvement activities.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated VA exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
Proficiency in written and spoken English.
For the GS-09 grade, one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the lower grade level.
For positions above the full-performance level, an active national pharmacy technician certification through either PTCB as a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) or NHA as a Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
Demonstrated expert knowledge as a key resource in a pharmacy specialty area; skill analyzing data for performance-improvement projects, workload analyses, and statistical reports; skill solving problems and implementing corrective actions; ability to maintain accreditations and prepare for reviews and inspections; and ability to develop training programs and materials.
Ability to perform regular and recurring physical exertion, including prolonged standing or sitting, typing, walking within the medical center, lifting or carrying pharmaceutical supplies up to 40 pounds, and bending, stooping, and stretching.
Selected applicants must complete required onboarding, background/security investigation, and applicable pre-employment screening, including drug testing for testing-designated positions.
Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is required for VA Health Care Personnel.
Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to the terms described in the announcement.

Nice To Haves

Sterile-compounding experience.
Pharmacy technician certification.

Responsibilities

Assist the CSP Pharmacy Supervisor with compliance tasks, including maintaining required records and quality-assurance logs, developing and implementing procedural guidelines, maintaining reference materials, and performing assigned administrative duties.
Help maintain survey-readiness for accreditations, national reviews, and inspections.
Determine sterile-compounding staff training needs; develop training schedules; and perform or coordinate training.
Operate, maintain, troubleshoot, and train staff on CSP-related equipment and technology; serve as a superuser in relevant documentation and education platforms when appropriate.
Administer glove fingertip and media fill testing and practical and didactic skill assessments for pharmacy staff with sterile-compounding privileges.
Maintain training and education assignments and records for pharmacy staff with sterile-compounding privileges.
Audit sterile-compounding spaces, including documentation and visual inspections of cleanliness, condition, organization, medication storage, labeling, and expiration dates.
Coordinate with the CSP Pharmacy Supervisor regarding compounding-room, equipment, staffing, and maintenance status.
Assist pharmacist supervisors with assessing workflows and adjusting priorities and schedules for compounding operations.
Provide input to Pharmacy Supervisors on annual performance appraisals of sterile-compounding staff when requested.
Participate in medical-center and service quality-improvement activities, process-assessment teams, and action teams.
Compound hazardous and non-hazardous parenteral admixtures using aseptic technique, in forms including large-volume, small-volume, infusion-syringe, and infusion-pump preparations as required.
Interpret orders; select, calculate, and measure ingredients; prepare and inspect products; label products; and maintain compounding records.
Perform medication dispensing and distribution in the designated work area.
Apply appropriate medication storage, distribution, disposal, and hazardous-material handling practices, including interpreting Safety Data Sheets.
Use and understand sterile-compounding supplies and pharmacy equipment, including needles, syringes, tubing, filters, pump reservoirs, laminar airflow hoods, biosafety cabinets, compounding aseptic isolators, repeater pumps, and Omnicell devices.
Ensure designated CSP areas are cleaned according to USP 797/800 standards and local policies and that cleaning documentation is completed.
Use specialized knowledge to resolve questionable orders or situations and contact pharmacists for clarification of questionable dosages, combinations, or potential patient-care hazards.
Perform accurate product selection, dosage calculations, and compounding using package literature, written procedures, and specialized knowledge.