Pharmacist (Clinical Specialist)

The Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP) functions at the highest level of clinical practice and works independently under their individual scope of practice to directly care for patients. A CPP functions as a member of their assigned team(s) and serves as an advanced practice provider to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services.

Qualifications:

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:

Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d)

Education:

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. Verification of approved degree programs may be obtained from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, Illinois 60602-5109; phone: (312) 664-3575, or through their Web site at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/. (

NOTE:

Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy. Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the graduate is 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).

Licensure:

Full, current and unrestricted license to practice pharmacy in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or the District of Columbia. The pharmacist must maintain current registration if this is a requirement for maintaining full, current, and unrestricted licensure. A pharmacist who has, or has ever had, any license(s) revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16. Grandfathering Provision . All licensed pharmacists employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date 6/7/2012 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.

Grade Determinations :

GS-13

Pharmacist Clinical Specialist Experience:

In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Assignments . For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed at least 25% of the time. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. Functions at the highest level of clinical practice, works independently under their scope of practice as defined by the individual medical center to directly care for patients. A CPS plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider who functions to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: designing, implementing, assessing, monitoring and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic and most economical medication treatments; helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams in assigned areas; performing physical assessments; and ordering laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy. GS-13

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.

Preferred Experience:

Experience functioning as a Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner under an approved scope of practice. Previous experience in primary care or working within a Patient Aligned Care team (PACT).

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ . The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements:

Physical movements involve completion of routine pharmacy functions which include but are not limited to significant computer work/typing involving documenting patient encounters in the electronic health record (EHR), prescription order entry and processing, contact of patients (both face to face and via phone). Certain tasks are repetitive in nature and require multiple steps performed in succession for success. The incumbent should be able to lift and carry up to 45 pounds without significant difficulty. Incumbent must be able to stand or sit in one place for considerable time during completion of complex tasks. Complexity of mental processes involved is extensive, demanding, and challenging.