Pharmacy Technician (Outpatient)

Summary

This position is located within the Outpatient Pharmacy of the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla, WA. This position is above the full performance level for Pharmacy Technicians and requires National Certification by either PTCB (Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, CPhT) OR NHA (National Health career Association, ExCPT).

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

06/20/2024 to 06/28/2024

• Salary

$51,198 - $75,660 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 7

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Walla Walla, WA

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

No

• Travel Required

25% or less

• You may be expected to travel for this position.

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Excepted

• Promotion potential

None

• Job family (Series)

0661 Pharmacy Technician

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

Yes

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Credentialing

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

CBSV-12441325-24-MLR

• Control number

796592500

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This job is open to

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to current permanent employees of the Veterans Health Administration only.

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Duties

This position provides support to all pharmacy operations in a variety of settings. This includes patient care activities in the main outpatient dispensing pharmacy or other area as assigned by the supervisor. The position includes independent judgement and team assignments as they relate to pharmacy services and the care of the Veteran. The medical center offers a wide range of outpatient medical care services; these services include but are not limited to Primary Care, Specialty Care, Women's Health Clinic, Mental Health, Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (RRTP) and Employee Health. The outpatient pharmacy distributes acute and chronic medications or other direct patient care services unique to the VA health care model to surrounding area CBOC and PTOC clinics.

• Triages all Pharmacy communication with internal and external customers by phone, email, Microsoft Teams messaging, and message pool messages in the chart; refers all questions requiring clinical judgement to the pharmacist.

• Completes all chart messages within the Technician scope.

• Processes incoming faxed prescription by naming and confirming Community Care authorization of care to include expiration date of service.

• Processes Community Care prescriptions by confirming a valid Community Care authorization exists. Sends notice letters to the writing provider and the patient when no valid authorization is available. Sends notice letter to prescriber and patient when a prior authorized drug request (PADR) has been denied.

• Downloads USPS & UPS tracking to the Pharmacy drive daily for future tracking capability by pharmacy & call center staff.

• Assists patients requesting refills and prescription renewals by alerting provider team when the prescription is out of refills or is expired and requires renewal.

• Provides patient education on Pharmacy topics such as the refill and renewal process and prescription tracking information; relays clinical judgement questions to the pharmacist.

• Provides patient with Rx tracking information from USPS and UPS, when requested.

• Processes pharmacy returned mail by contacting patient and confirming or updating patients mailing address in the appropriate electronic system. Forwards patient prescriptions to a pharmacist for cancel fill action in patients profile when appropriate.

• Designated workstations will be kept clean, stocked and organized.

• May be required to travel to CBOC/PTOC clinic locations for Omnicell restocking and medication outdate checks, as needed.

• Assists in training for lower graded technicians.

• Performs all duties of lower graded technician functions, as needed.

• Provide coverage to next higher-grade technician, as needed for short staffing situations. Not to exceed more than 25% of employee workload.

Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf

Pharmacy Technician: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Pharmacy-Technician-Career-Flyer.pdf

Work Schedule: 8AM - 4:30PM, Monday

• Friday

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

Paid Time Off: 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)

Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.

Parental Leave: 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.

Child Care Subsidy: 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.

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Telework: Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 00000

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You 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.

• You may be required to serve a probationary period.

• Subject to background/security investigation.

• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

• English Language Proficiency. Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations:

Pharmacy Technician, GS-07

Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:

(1) Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).

OR,

(2) National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

(a) Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.

(b) Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.

(c) Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.

(d) Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.

(e) Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.

(f) Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.

Preferred Experience: Highly proficient in typing prescriptions, highly proficient in Cerner applications, and highly reliable, self-motivated, able to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

References: VA Handbook 5005/159, Part II, Appendix G28, November 7, 2023.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7.

Physical Requirements: Light lifting and carrying (under 15 lbs.), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, walking, standing, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, ability to distinguish basic colors, and hearing (aid may be permitted).

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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• Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window

Learn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.