Clinical Pharmacist - CITC

Department of Veterans Affairs

The CITC Clinical Pharmacist participates in a variety of program areas within pharmacy service, including but not limited to outpatient prescription processing, formulary management, pharmacy informatics, performance improvement, medication use evaluations, and quality control. The CITC Clinical Pharmacist may precept pharmacy students and residents. The CITC Clinical Pharmacist assists with pharmacist and technician staff development through education, orientation, and training programs.

• The CITC Clinical Pharmacist works in the assigned CITC Pharmacy Group area and provides a wide range of professional pharmacy services. Principal duties include evaluating, troubleshooting, and processing CITC associated prescriptions. These services include but are not limited to interpretation and approval of medication orders, therapeutic drug monitoring, monitoring laboratory tests, interpreting health record data for the purpose of assessing medication orders, providing drug information to other health professionals, and recommending cost-effective alternatives when appropriate. FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES: Clinical - Indirect Patient Care Activities Review, interpret, evaluate, and approve patient medication orders and regimens for clinical effectiveness, drug selection, dosing, contraindications, route of administration, side effects, potential drug interactions, appropriate monitoring, and therapeutic outcomes as required. Communicate findings with prescribers and provide appropriate alternatives to current treatment plans as needed. Monitor and report drug errors, adverse drug reactions, allergies, and patient compliance issues. Document findings per facility procedures. Apply knowledge of normal laboratory values in the evaluation of patient care, recognize abnormalities and the clinical significance of abnormalities, and make therapeutic adjustment recommendations based on objective laboratory findings. Reconcile medications during transitions of care and facilitate continuity across transitions of care. Work with providers to ensure compliance with national, VISN, and local policy, directives, standards, and initiatives. Manage medication recalls or shortages by recommending alternative medications or dosage strengths to provide substitutions for the patient needs. Participates in antimicrobial stewardship activities outlined in guidance or medical center policy as appropriate. Pharmacy Operations Maintain competence in all operational aspects of outpatient pharmacy prescription processing, including knowledge of all electronic medical record software, automation, labeling, packaging, dispensing, shipping, documentation, controlled substance accountability, inventory management, and Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) procedures. Ensure workload is completed in a timely manner and prioritize tasks both personally and pharmacy wide to provide the most efficient and timely delivery service. Ensure accurate and timely electronic processing of pharmaceuticals to meet patient care needs. Enforce national and local formulary decisions in accordance with VA guidelines and clinical judgement. Assist providers in navigating this process and recommend formulary alternatives when appropriate. Education and Research Maintain own professional competency by keeping abreast of information on new medications, current pharmacotherapy guidelines, innovations in pharmacy practice, and integrating this information into practice. Completes, in a timely fashion, all VA-mandated educational and training programs for pharmacy staff to help meet departmental and health system-wide goals and objectives. Participate in the training and in-servicing of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, and other staff. Demonstrate skill at using both written and verbal communication techniques in teaching others. Serve as preceptor for pharmacy students and pharmacy residents in accordance with established procedures. Assist in new employee orientation, competency assessments, and mentoring as required. Develop and provide pharmaceutical education and expertise as needed for committees such as P&T; and for providers, pharmacy, nursing, and all other departments, as well as patients and families. Participate in research projects as time allows including precepting residency research projects. Drug Information Serve as an authority on medication use, pharmacotherapy, interactions, overdoses, and compliance, to medical staff, nursing staff, technicians, and students. Use appropriate references to research drug information. Demonstrate a good working knowledge of information resources, both written and electronic, as well primary and tertiary literature evaluation. Maintain a current knowledge of therapeutics and disease management. Provide timely and accurate responses to drug information inquiries from all customers. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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