Summary This position functions in the Inpatient Pharmacy section at the Seattle Campus with the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, primarily in the controlled substance vault and patient care areas managing controlled substance inventory in automated dispensing cabinets. Responsibilities Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional This position also functions in the unit dose, and sterile compounding areas which includes the preparation of IV admixtures and antineoplastic agents, medication distributions and inventory control, emergency crash cart replenishment, simple maintenance of automated dispensing equipment and evaluating data from pharmacy information systems. Controlled Substances Trains new employees how to work in the vault and distribute controlled substances. Evaluates automated dispensing cabinet inventory reports and communicates recommendations for optimizing to the appropriate supervisor. Fills inpatient and clinic requests for controlled substances; fills outpatient prescriptions for controlled substances. Participates in routine inventory counts and inspections. Prepares expired or unusable controlled substances for destruction. Works with the procurement technicians to ensure appropriate inventory balance and that all invoices and 222 forms are appropriately filed and readily retrievable. Unit Dose Medication Management Fills unit dose and automated dispensing cabinet orders. Receives inventory from vendors using provided technology, applies bar-code or other labeling as indicated and restocks shelves. Inventories and replenishes emergency cart trays and carts. Operates and provides routine maintenance for pharmacy equipment, such as automated dispensing machines and barcode label printers. Repackages a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, labeling them properly and leaving them for final verification. Performs automatic replenishment and processes requests for ward stock; performs record keeping for these activities. Inspects ward stock supplies for unapproved items, storage practices, and outdates; performs record keeping for these activities. Sterile Compounding Prepares sterile hazardous and non-hazardous compounded sterile preparations (CSP's) using aseptic technique and safe handling of hazardous medications described in chapters 797 and 800 of the US Pharmacopoeia. Verifies correct formulation and ingredients; selects and measures appropriate components; mixes components in a safe and appropriate manner; inspects the final product for accuracy, appearance and pharmaceutical elegance; labels the product; takes responsibility for ensuring timely delivery. Follows established protocols in determining appropriate beyond-use dates on all pharmaceuticals prepared. Routinely checks quality control logs for completeness and promptly alerts supervisor of anomalies in documentation. General Teaches pharmacy technicians and students proper technique for the preparation of sterile products. Teaches pharmacy technicians and students procedures for the unit dose management system. Provides training on controlled substances procedures to technicians, pharmacists, inspectors, and students. Interacts with patients, pharmacists, nurses and other clinical staff as required. Answers general questions and refers therapeutic problems to the pharmacist; seeks assistance from others when needed. Assists in the TQM of the pharmacy by participating in process action teams, reporting medication errors, and continually seeking ways to improve the service provided to patients and other customers. Work Schedule: 7 AM - 3:30 PM Monday through Friday with occasional 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 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 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. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). 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. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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. 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). OR National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (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: 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. Abilility 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: Three years of pharmacy technician experience with controlled substances and compounding sterile products in a hospital pharmacy setting. Three years experience using inpatient pharmacy equipment to include experience with Automated Dispensing Cabinets (Omnicell or Pyxis), outpatient pharmacy robotic systems, or TPN compounding devices (BAXA, Pinnacle, etc). 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-08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-08. Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds; Moderate carrying, 15-44 pounds; Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Standing (6 hours); Repeated bending (2 hours); Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Mental and Emotional stability; Environmental Factors: Constant noise; Extensive Keyboard/mouse use; Working alone; Education Additional Information 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.