Summary

This position is located at the CW Young Bay Pines Healthcare System at Bay Pines - FL within the Pharmacy Service. Pharmacy technicians at this grade level are nationally certified by PTCB or NHA as Certified Pharmacy Technicians and can work autonomously. Technician is responsible for the operation - maintenance - restocking - and troubleshooting of automated dispensing equipment.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States
• Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).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)
• Education
• None required
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service
• Certification
• For positions above the full performance level - the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) - Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)
• National Healthcareer Association (NHA) - Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT)
• Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above - the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates
• Lead Pharmacy Technician - GS-08 Experience
• Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and demonstrate the KSAs below
• 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
• PTCB as a CPhT
• OR 2
• NHA as a ExCPT
• Knowledge - Skills and Abilities (KSAs)
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment - if indicated: (a) 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.) Note: See Specialized Area.in the Definitions Section
• (b) Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures
• (c) Ability to evaluate - analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy
• Lead Pharmacy Technician 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
• Lead pharmacy technicians perform duties independently - which consist of significant scope and complexity and will assist with technician oversight
• Lead pharmacy technicians lead three GS-07 or more pharmacy technicians/employees/staff members - provide direction for daily operations and assume responsibility for integrating and monitoring standard pharmacy policies to maintain continuous workflow and quality within the service
• Lead pharmacy technicians must do a combination of at least three of the following duties: prepare work schedules and assign tasks to ensure timely completion of duties
• ensure pharmacy resources are in optimal working condition and address workflow needs
• provide guidance and support of the work unit in supervisory absence
• train personnel (including students) in methods - procedures and use of equipment and instruments specific to the assigned area
• provide input to supervisor on performance and training needs of employees
• adjust work assignments due to absences - emergencies or changes in priorities
• resolve simple informal complaints of employees and patients - refer more difficult problems to the supervisor
• or recommend approval and/or disapproval of leave requests
• Preferred Experience: One year experience working in large outpatient and large inpatient pharmacies
• Experience working with and troubleshooting pharmacy automation (i.e
• MILT - Euclid - BD Pyxis ES - BD IV Prep - ScriptPro - TempTrak) used in outpatient and inpatient settings
• A minimum of 1 year of experience filling and troubleshooting Pyxis
• Proficiency with Pyxis automated dispensing systems - including the ability to effectively fill - manage inventories - utilize reports - and troubleshoot any operational issues
• Experience with preparing - moving - recovery of automation in emergency management situations
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• PART II APPENDIX G28 Physical Requirements
• Heavy lifting (45 pounds and over) - Moderate lifting (15-44 pounds) - Light lifting (under 15 pounds) - Heavy carrying (45 pounds and over) - Moderate carrying (15-44 pounds) - Light carrying (under 15 pounds) - Straight pulling (2 hours) - Pushing - Reaching above shoulder - Use of fingers - Both hands required - Walking (up to 4 hours) - Standing (prolonged) - Repeated bending - Climbing - use of legs and arms (infrequent) - Operation of motor vehicle - Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4 - Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other - Specific visual requirement (Ability to read fine print on labels) - Depth perception - Ability to distinguish basic colors - Hearing (aid permitted) - Clear Speech - Emotional Stability - Good Dexterity.

Duties

• The duties and functions of the Lead Pharmacy Technician include - but are not limited to the following: First line support - maintenance - and basic repair of pharmacy automation (Euclid - Healthcare Logistics (HCL)) packaging systems to support unit dose medication dispensing activities
• Serves as administrator for Pyxis or similar automation used for medication storage and dispensing
• Manages users - trains new employees - and participates in any future upgrades or expansion of equipment
• Pends new orders and unloads unused medication pockets
• Routinely runs reports for outdated drugs and usage report to assure optimal efficiency
• Enters service requests for preventative maintenance and repairs
• Superuser for pharmacy automation used in sterile compounding such as BD IV Prep and Simplifi 797/Critical Point
• Assists in adding new National Drug Code (NDC)s - lot numbers and expiration dates into system
• Enters service requests for preventative maintenance and repairs
• Serves as back up to the Sterile Compounding Lead Technician
• Administrator for Simplfi+Med-storage and similar systems
• Manages users and trains new employees
• Runs compliance reports and communicates results to the Inpatient Pharmacy Supervisor
• Provides technical support for outpatient pharmacy dispensing automation (i.e. - Eye-Con and Script-Pro)
• Manages users and troubleshoots equipment issues
• Completes monthly ward stock inspections and other duties associated with emergency medication dispensing - storage and distribution
• Documents inspections in Simplifi+ Med-storage
• Coordinates completion of code trays and anesthesia trays
• Manages the Ward Stock/On Demand process
• Performs final review of medication to be dispensed for Ward Stock/On Demand for Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC)s and C.W
• Bill Young VA Medical Center (CWY VAMC) campus utilizing tech- check-tech methodology
• Set up - adjusts - and maintains the operation of any new automated equipment acquired by the Pharmacy Service
• Manages Pyxis inventory
• Support Inpatient Pharmacy Operations based on the needs of the Service
• Coordinates the technical aspects of pharmacy drug distribution activities to ensure standard operating procedures are in alignment with automation capabilities so that efficiencies are maximized
• Incumbent is instrumental in recommending changes for the improvement of the workflow - work methods - and priorities involved within the drug distribution system
• Evaluates and analyzes workflow and coordinates all work activities involved with pharmacy automation throughout multiple locations
• This will involve trouble shooting - regularly gathering data - analyzing - and interpreting VA data and formulating action plans
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 9:00 am to 5:30 pm (Tour of duty is variable and includes weekdays - evenings - weekends - and holidays) 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 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
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized