Pharmacy Technician

Veterans Health Administration • Billings, MT

13d • Onsite

About The Position

Pharmacy technicians at this grade level are nationally certified by PTCB or ExCPT and can work autonomously, using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties. Pharmacy technicians above the full performance level can mentor and train lower grade technicians in the practice setting. The employee will assist the pharmacist in providing optimal care and timely service in accordance with the mission, vision, and goals of the MTVAHCS and Pharmacy Service.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• 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.
• Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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 ( https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents ).
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• 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.
• Will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to beבן appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-6).
• Must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) OR National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
• Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.
• Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.
• Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.
• Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.
• Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.
• Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.
• Lift and carry up to 45 pounds without significant difficulty.
• Able to stand or sit in one place for considerable time during completion of complex tasks.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in Outpatient pharmacy
• Customer service skills
• Experience working with controlled substance in a Pharmacy setting

Responsibilities

• Accurately interpret, fill, and prepare prescriptions with appropriate medications and or medical supplies for pharmacist verification.
• Assures drugs and supplies are appropriately stored and secured according to USP and VA guidelines, including the storage of high-risk, look a-like/sound a-like, hazardous, controlled substances, corrosive chemical, flammable liquids, and refrigerated items.
• Appropriately restocks controlled substances items in automated secured cabinets (i.e., Omnicell) in pharmacy or throughout medical center, as assigned.
• Complies with all laws, regulations, directives, policies, and procedures applying to the dispensing, storage, transfer, inventory, and accountability of controlled substances.
• Follow USP 797/800 Guidelines for the compounding of all sterile preparations, including ophthalmic, TPN, hazardous, large & small volume IV solutions, PCAs, etc.
• Manufactures uncomplicated and/or complicated parenteral admixtures to be delivered in the form of large volume, small volume, infusion syringe or other as required.
• Correctly interprets physician orders, selects, and measures appropriate ingredients, mixes ingredients in a safe and effective manner, inspects the final product for accuracy, suitability, and elegance, labels the product, maintains records of the manufacturing process, and supplies the product for pharmacist verification and delivery.
• Performs review of medications prepared by another pharmacy employee to be dispensed to hospital areas.
• Inventories and replenishes emergency trays.
• Operates and maintains automated dispensing unit dose systems.
• Correctly inventories, assesses, and determines the need for floor stock and external medication.
• Follows established policies and procedures, schedules, inventory levels, and usage rate reports to determine appropriate stock levels for specific areas of use.
• Supports automation by manually completing prescriptions not processed through the automation dispensing machine.
• Assures the timely completion of all prescriptions.
• Verifies the patient's identification following the Medical Center's policies (i.e., double patient identifiers).
• Verifies that the patient receives the correct prescriptions by using VA software (i.e., VISTA and barcode scanning).
• Utilizes and comprehends the mail shipping programs used by the facility (i.e., USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.) for overnight delivery of non-controlled and controlled prescriptions.
• Performs searches, updates patient information, and generates shipping reports as requested by the supervisor.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
• After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 .
• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed