The Quality Assurance Pharmacy Technician Specialist position is located within Pharmacy Service at the Captain James Lovell FHCC and supports all Outpatient Pharmacy Services as assigned utilizing education, experience and expertise. The incumbent of this position functions as a Pharmacy Technician Specialist and is responsible for providing safety and quality management guidance and accountability across the Pharmacy Service. Preferred Experience: Possess a current Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) or ExCPT with an understanding of the goals, objectives and performance measures associated with Pharmacy Operations. 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. Education or Experience: A high school diploma or equivalent; or at least 3 months experience. Certification: Certification by the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) or National Health Career Association (NHA)? is required at grades GS-7 and above. English Language Proficiency: Pharmacy technicians appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English. Grade Determinations:GS-8 Level: One year experience at the next lower level, and must fully meet the KSAs at the next lower level. -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. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs. -Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.) -Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures. -Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Pharmacy technicians at this level have a higher level of responsibility for specialized areas of pharmacy and are expected to independently carry out assigned tasks of considerable difficulty. Pharmacy technicians in this assignment specialize in areas such as sterile compounding, oncology, controlled substances, medication history review, clinical specialist (anticoagulation, pain, infectious diseases), clinical informatics, automation, immunizations and any other specialized area in the advancement of the profession. The pharmacy technician will serve as a subject matter expert and key resource in the day-to-day technician duties of the specialized area. The technician will be performing assignments such as compounding sterile products, filling controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining compliance with Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulations, taking medication histories and counseling patients, managing automation, managing workflow and training and orienting staff in the specialized area. Certification: PTCB or NHA certification is required at this grade level and above. Physical Requirements: Employees are typically expected to work forty hours per week. This may include evenings, midnights, weekends and/or holidays as assigned. Principle duties require repetitive use of hands and fingers (e.g., preparing IV admixtures, use of a computer keyboard, etc.). May require lifting and carrying light loads (up to 44Ibs.), including boxes, equipment, unit dose-cassettes, and IV solutions; stooping or kneeling (e.g., to pick up items from the floor, remove and replace items on lower shelves, and to file documents in lower file drawers, etc.); sitting, walking, or standing for long periods of time (4-8 hours). Normal ranges of hearing and vision are required to perform work and communicate effectively; must have the visual ability to distinguish between basic colors and shades of color. An ability to perform tasks requiring rapid mental and muscular coordination functions simultaneously is necessary. Employees must be physically capable of operating various types of equipment used on the job. Employees may be required to work at various pharmacy locations as assigned. ["Functions of the Position: The Quality Assurance Pharmacy Technician Specialist position is under the supervision of a pharmacist, employees in such settings successfully and consistently demonstrate the exercise of independent technical judgment (without the need for readily available supervision) as well as comprehensive and thorough working knowledge of the most complex or difficult practices and procedures. Such individuals may also serve as leaders or co-leaders in the Outpatient Pharmacy section. When functions as a pharmacy technician, the incumbent typically carries out the full range of technical support functions which include but are not limited to; processing and filling prescriptions for scheduled and non-scheduled federal legend drugs and medical devices, over-the-counter products and supply items; stock management; performing medication stock expiration checks operation, maintenance, troubleshooting of automated dispensing equipment; patient and customer relations; and preparation and maintenance of various logs, records and reports. The incumbent may be required to perform some or all of the functions; however, the relative percentages of time spent performing each specific function varies with the area of assignment. Major Duties and Responsibilities: A. Quality Assurance: The incumbent works closely with the Outpatient Pharmacy Supervisory Pharmacist and Technician Supervisor to coordinate, lead quality assurance work activities, and delegate job assignments to the pharmacy technicians in the outpatient and/or specialty areas of the Outpatient Pharmacy. The incumbent must successfully and consistently demonstrate the exercise of independent technical judgment without the need for readily available supervision. B. Outpatient Activities: The incumbent must possess an advanced technical knowledge of drug and medication brand names, generic names/chemical names, general and special storage requirements, expiration date requirements, manufacturer/distributor sources, dosage forms, applicable systems of weights and measures and medical terminology to interpret providers' orders and verify correct drug, dosage form, strength and dose is prepared and/or distributed; working knowledge of drug use and dosage forms available to be able to screen drug orders for propriety and assist the pharmacist in solving potential drug related problems; working knowledge of hospital computer system(s), specifically the applicable Navy and VA software applications and processing and a thorough knowledge of the operation and basic daily maintenance and minor repair of automated dispensing equipment. C. Controlled Substance: The incumbent requires advanced knowledge of principles relating tocontrolled substances and the requirements of FHCC and Network policy and state and Federal regulations, which apply to these drugs. Knowledge of trending and analysis is necessary to ensure that problems associated with waste, fraud, diversion or abuse are identified quickly and reported to appropriate supervisor(s). VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws Pharmacy Technician: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Pharmacy-Technician-Career-Flyer.pdf Work Schedule: Rotating shifts, days weekends and holidays 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) 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: N/A Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000"]
