Summary The Pharmacy Technician is certified, highly specialized technician, under Pharmacy Service, is responsible for the first line management of all controlled substances handled by the pharmacy for the Roseburg VA Health Care System (RVAHCS). Mandated accountability and control of scheduled drugs makes this a particularly sensitive position that is considered critical by all levels of management. Responsibilities Functions and Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Vault Functions Ability to prepare, fill, and dispense controlled substance according to policies and procedures. Conducts regularly scheduled inventories every 72 hours and daily if needed according to regulations and policies. Assists the Controlled Substance Compliance Inspectors to complete the monthly inspections as needed. Effectively coordinates, manages, completes, and documents the purchasing of prescription and non-prescription drug products and supplies by maintaining a comprehensive knowledge of the procurement and formulary process. Maintains, verifies, stocks, and replaces outdated CS medications from stock - may include inpatient wards, inpatient/outpatient storage cabinets, vaults. Maintains accurate electronic inventory through decrementing prescriptions, entering received inventory, transferring to automated dispensing cabinets, dispensing on green sheets, and transferring to other dispensing vaults. Follows policies and procedures for handling the destruction and return of controlled substance medication. Works with pharmacy procurement personnel by providing information regarding medications and supplies needed from the warehouse or wholesaler based on items used. Assists, reviews, and makes recommendation for inventory control of controlled substances. Monitors, analyzes orders, and usage/distribution patterns for questionable circumstances or unusual trends. Communicates potential problems to the Pharmacy Supervisor. Provides training for pharmacists, interns, technicians, inspectors, students and others in controlled substance accountability procedures. Prepares, operates, restocks, and maintains complex automated dispensing cabinets and all necessary equipment supporting pharmaceutical patient care functions. Maintains file of hard copy of hand-written CII-V prescriptions in accordance with Directive 1108.01. Resolves inventory discrepancies immediately when discovered by reviewing reports and contacting appropriate persons when needed. Reports discrepancies to pharmacy supervisor for follow up. Medication Distribution System Reads and interprets verified prescriptions from the Veteran Electronic Health Record (EHR) or in written format. Reviews prescription orders for technical accuracy after prescription/order(s) are reviewed by pharmacist. Prepares medications and ensures the orderable item matches the item being dispensed with regard to drug, strength, quantity, or appropriate supply item. Dispenses medications following all regulations, policies, and procedures for safe medication distribution. Uses Automatic Dispensing Machines (ADM) to batch and label medications. Ensure ScriptTalk labels are batched if needed. Understands when to use other prescription labels with computer outages. Maintains highly sophisticated pharmacy equipment. This includes cleaning procedures and maintenance of ADM's and other counting machines. Troubleshoots equipment and databases when needed. Assists with automated or manual inventory processes that include but are not limited to inventory counts, medication ordering, stocking, checking for outdates, pulling outdates, pulling recalled medications, inspections or any other activity related to the supply of VA medications. Pharmacy Phone System Accurately collects and clarifies patient information Capable of synthesizing patient information to identify basic therapeutic, distributive, or medication related problems. Understands when to alert pharmacists for problems. Communicates information accurately in the EHR or other formats Pharmacy Mail System - if assigned Fills medication "to be mailed" in accordance with description provided in the medication distribution section Ensures prescription label matches mailing label and maintains accuracy in other software or paper systems. Able to transport mail containers to pick up destinations, restock supplies, lift mail bags or containers. Assists with other medication distribution activities as directed by pharmacist, supervisor or as delineated as part of the shift responsibility. Work Schedule: 7:00am - 3:30pm, 7:30am - 4:00pm, 8:00am-4:30pm, 8:30am-5:00pm, 9:00am -5:30pm, Monday - Friday Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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 trial period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov Qualifications 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: None required. For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the 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: PTCB as a CPhT. OR NHA as a ExCPT 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. 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: PTCB as a CPhT OR 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: 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. 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 at this grade level may be appointed to one of the following assignments: Pharmacy Technician. 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 Preferred Experience: Current or past VA Employee, Retail Pharmacy Technicians experience, PTCB or NHA certification. 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-8. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. 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 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. 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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.