Pharmacy Technician

About the role

This Pharmacy Technician position is assigned to the Eastern Kansas Health Care System in Topeka - KS. Under the supervision of a pharmacist - you will perform routine pharmacy functions including filling, preparation and dispensing of prescriptions, sterile compounding preparation, management of automated dispensing equipment (ADE), inventory management, and multiple types of customer contact services.

Responsibilities

• Reads and interprets prescriptions - obtains proper medication or material in the proper strength and dosage form
• Determines proper amount and counts - pours - or measures the medications
• Affixes proper label and records required data on Pharmacy's copy of prescription/order
• Dispenses medication in ambulatory care or discharge situations
• Fills first dose medications - missing doses - and unit dose carts for inpatient areas
• Repackages medications in unit-of-use packaging
• Prepares all IV admixtures - including cytotoxic agents - investigational drugs - and other hazardous medications
• Maintains pre-determined levels of automatic replenishment/ward stock medications for patient care areas
• Restocks without routine secondary review the patient care areas to established inventory levels
• Monitors inventory needs in patient care areas
• Orders inventory needs during the absence of the Inventory Management Technician
• Compounds and/or reconstitutes simple oral or external medications
• Operates and performs preventive maintenance on complicated pharmacy equipment
• Provides technical assistance to biomedical and manufacturer service technicians when equipment requires repair or replacement
• Coordinates the completion of all monthly ward inspections
• Removes/replaces outdated items and excessive quantities of medications and documents findings using appropriate forms in accordance with established policy and procedures
• Answers questions from pharmacy and non-pharmacy personnel regarding drug distribution
• Identifies basic therapeutic problems such as duplicate therapy with drugs in the same class and alerts the pharmacist to the possible need for clinical intervention
• Maintains refrigerator temperatures and documents temperatures on a log if appropriate daily in pharmacy
• Assists with collecting drug use evaluation data for quality improvement purposes
• Provides patient education on pharmacy topics such as the requesting refill process - drug information sheets - and relays judgmental questions to the pharmacist
• Assists Pharmacy supervisor with training of new pharmacy technicians in both inpatient and outpatient areas
• Performs final review of replenished emergency carts and anesthesia trays that have been prepared by lower graded technicians
• Assists in other patient care areas to maintain the consistency of overall pharmacy services

Requirements

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
• Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C.7403(f)

Qualifications

Education or Experience:

• None required
• 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
• Grandfathering Provision: Pharmacy technicians employed in VHA on the effective date 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
• Employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions
• Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels
• Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard
• Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation
• Initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation

Skills

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

• Ability to follow policies and procedures
• Ability to maintain appropriate files
• Ability to communicate with patients and other health professionals
• Ability to follow both written and verbal instructions
• Ability to operate office software/equipment to include - computers - software applications and printers

Benefits

N/A

Pay

Grade Determiantions: Pharmacy Technician - GS-03, GS-04, GS-05, GS-06

Schedule

Weekend Day and Weekend Evening Tours - Off Tours as Needed

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service

Telework

Not Available

Virtual

This is not a virtual position