Pharmacy Technician (CITC)

Veterans Health Administration • El Paso, TX

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Pharmacy Technician provides professional and clinical pharmacy support to the El Paso VA Health Care System, focusing on prescriptions from Care in the Community providers. The technician receives prescriptions through fax, mail, electronic prescribing, or direct delivery; documents them in CPRS and/or the Care in the Community workflow file; and handles prescriptions from unauthorized provider visits by communicating with patients and forwarding or returning prescriptions as appropriate. The technician reviews authorized prescriptions for appropriateness using pharmacy technician knowledge and national and local VA formulary requirements, and initiates non-formulary and prior-authorization processes with providers. After required documentation is received, the technician enters consult requests in CPRS for review by a clinical pharmacist and inputs authorized prescriptions or prepares electronically prescribed medications in VistA for pharmacist review and verification.

The role also supports medication tracking, shipping, dispensing, prescription assembly, and pharmacy automation. The technician helps track and ship controlled substances and other Care in the Community medications, dispenses medications after pharmacist verification in accordance with policy, and assembles prescriptions for window dispensing or mail delivery. The position supports the pharmacy training program by orienting and training staff technicians, interns, and students.

The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 0800–1645. Ad-hoc telework is available; this is not a virtual position. The full performance level and actual grade for this vacancy are GS-08. Relocation and recruitment incentives and permanent change of station are not authorized.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. citizen, except that non-citizens may be appointed when qualified citizens cannot be recruited in accordance with VA policy.
• Must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Must meet the GS-08 knowledge, skills, and abilities, including comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology, and policies in a specialized pharmacy area; skill in training and orienting pharmacy facility employees and students; and ability to evaluate, analyze, and coordinate specialized-area workflow and work activities.
• For positions above the full performance level, must pass a national certification exam and hold active PTCB Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) or NHA Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT) certification.
• Must meet the stated physical requirements, including lifting and carrying 15–44 pounds, prolonged walking and standing, and the listed reaching, hand-use, mobility, vision, color-discrimination, and hearing requirements.
• Subject to background/security investigation and, if tentatively selected for a testing-designated position, pre-employment urinalysis for illegal drug use.
• Must complete the online onboarding process and provide acceptable identification for pre-employment requirements.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program as a VA Health Care Personnel requirement.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period as specified for the appointment.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must be registered with Selective Service.
• Education or experience is not required under the basic requirements; if education is used to qualify, an accredited-school transcript must be submitted.

Nice To Haves

• Experience managing, troubleshooting, and maintaining pharmacy automated dispensing cabinets, including server-level configuration, inventory management, and resolving data-integrity issues, while coordinating with vendor support, OIT, Biomed, and pharmacy staff.
• Experience training and orienting pharmacy staff, controlled-substance inspectors, and medical center personnel in Omnicell automation equipment.
• Experience writing, updating, and implementing facility policies and procedures related to automation and controlled-substance compliance.
• Experience supporting pharmacy operations through clinic ward inspections, ADC drug stocking and destocking, expired-medication removal, and compliance with medication storage and disposal policies.
• Ability to communicate medication errors, adverse events, and other issues to pharmacists and supervisors for timely resolution.
• Skill using office automation software, such as word processing, EHR, and VistA, for administrative work, data collection, and report generation.
• Participation in quality assurance and performance improvement initiatives, including process action teams.
• Strong customer service and experience establishing positive working relationships with providers, nursing, pharmacy personnel, and other departments.
• Ability to resolve questions and problems affecting staff and patients, with strong oral and written communication, professionalism, and sensitivity to age, developmental, and cultural needs.

Responsibilities

• Receive prescriptions from Care in the Community providers through fax, mail, electronic prescribing, or delivery, and document them in CPRS and/or the Care in the Community workflow file.
• Communicate with patients about prescriptions from unauthorized provider visits and forward prescriptions to primary care providers or return them to patients as appropriate.
• Review authorized prescriptions for appropriateness using pharmacy technician knowledge and national and local VA formulary requirements.
• Maintain current knowledge of laws, regulations, directives, policies, and procedures concerning controlled substances.
• Initiate non-formulary and prior-authorization processes with Care in the Community providers and document required information in CPRS and the workflow file.
• Enter non-formulary or prior-authorization consult requests in CPRS for review and completion by the Care in the Community clinical pharmacist once documentation is complete.
• Input authorized prescriptions or prepare electronically prescribed medications in VistA for clinical pharmacist review and verification.
• Assist with tracking and shipping Care in the Community controlled substances and other medications mailed from the El Paso VAHCS Pharmacy or CMOP.
• Dispense medications to patients or healthcare professionals after pharmacist final verification, as required by policy.
• Assemble prescriptions with the correct drug, strength, quantity, auxiliary labels, and prescription labels for window dispensing and mail delivery after pharmacist verification.
• Manually complete prescriptions that are not processed through the automated dispensing machine.
• Assist in training and orienting new staff technicians, interns, and students, and take an active role in the pharmacy training program.
• At the GS-08 level, evaluate, analyze, and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized pharmacy area or section.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package is available to the employee and family, with eligibility dependent on position type and other factors.
• Selected applicants may qualify for prior-service credit toward annual leave accrual, subject to request and approval before appointment.

What This Job Offers

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