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Position Title
Clinical Pharmacist Specialist
Agency
Veterans Health Administration
Announcement Number
CBTE-12700798-25-TN Opens in new window
Open Period
Friday, March 14, 2025 to Thursday, March 27, 2025
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
1. Are you a Veterans Health Administration employee?
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
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2. Are you currently employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs?
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.

To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50).  Your SF-50 must include enough information to be able to determine that time-in-grade requirements have been met (if applicable) and include your position title, pay plan/series/grade, tenure and the type of appointment (i.e. Competitive or Excepted).  Please be aware that award SF-50's do not always include this pertinent information.
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Preferences
1. Which of the following items describes your current or recent (within the last five years) political appointee service?

If you responded yes to any of the items below, you will need to include a SF-50 specifying your prior service.
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Reminders
1. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. Are you proficient in basic written and spoken English? (limit characters)
Your resume must be submitted in English and include the following information for each job listed:
  • Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
  • Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
  • Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
  • Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
  • Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.
Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications. Do not include a photograph or video of yourself, or any sensitive information (age, date of birth, marital status, protected health information, religious affiliation, social security number, etc.) on your resume or cover letter. We will not access web pages or encrypted, and digitally signed documents linked on your resume or cover letter to determine your qualifications.
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If you are basing your qualifications on education (or a combination of education and experience) or if the position requires a college education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application. (limit characters)
By submitting your application, you are certifying, to the best of your knowledge and belief, all the information submitted by you with your application for employment is true, complete, and made in good faith, and that you have truthfully and accurately represented your work experience, knowledge, skills, abilities and education (degrees, accomplishments, etc.). The information you provide as part of your application may be investigated. You are also certifying, and acknowledging, that misrepresenting your experience or education, or providing false or fraudulent information in, or with your application, may affect your eligibility for appointment and/or continued employment. False or fraudulent statements may be punishable by fine or imprisonment (18 U.S.C. 1001). (limit characters)
Assessment 1
Thank you for your interest in employment with Lexington VA Health care system. Please select the appropriate answer to each of the following questions based on your background and experience that demonstrates you meet the basic requirements for the clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS). When answering the questionnaire, remember that your experience and education are subject to verification by investigation. (limit characters)
1. English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). Are you proficient in spoken and written English? (limit characters)
2. Basic Experience and Education:  Do you meet one of the following educational requirements?

Graduate of an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree
OR
Graduate of a foreign pharmacy degree program.  You must be able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification, which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT).

Note: Grandfathering Provision. All licensed pharmacists employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: 1) Employees grandfathered into the GS-660 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration, that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. (3) If a licensed pharmacist who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
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3. Licensure: A Pharmacist must maintain full, current, and unrestricted licensure to practice pharmacy. Do you possess a current, full, active, and unrestricted state license to practice pharmacy in a State, Territory, a Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or in the District of Columbia? (limit characters)
4. GS 13 Grade Requirements: Do you meet the following GS-13 grade requirements?

Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm D. program and 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. 
This experience includes reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; contacting providers as appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies; taking health and medication histories; performing medication reconciliation; providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions, nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; documenting and assessing adverse drug events (ADEs); assisting in medical emergencies; providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of medication distribution. Pharmacists must demonstrate knowledge of professional pharmacy practice; communicating orally and in writing to both patients and healthcare staff; knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security; and skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.
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The following question(s) pertain to your creditable experience. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with professional pharmacy practice. Professional practice means paid/nonpaid-paid employment as a professional or unlicensed graduate pharmacist as defined by the appropriate licensing board. OR Residency and fellowship training programs in a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for year basis. The pharmacy residency program must be accredited by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP). A fellowship program that is not accredited by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) will need to have comparable standards for experience to be creditable (Professional Standards Board refers to the Deputy Chief Consultant for Professional Practice for the determination). Select the appropriate answer to the following question(s) based on your background and experience that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. (limit characters)
5. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the basic requirements, and grade requirements; the candidates must be able to demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities. Do you meet the below knowledge, skills and abilities? (NOTE: this must be clearly demonstrated in your resume for consideration).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
  • Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
  • Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
  • Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
  • Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
  • Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.

Do you possess the experience above and can demonstrate the KSAs?
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