Pharmacy Technician - Inpatient and Outpatient

Pharmacy Technician - Inpatient and Outpatient

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Sheridan, Wyoming

Salary Range: $68628 - $89221 Per Year

Job Summary: The Pharmacy Technician is assigned clinical duties & rotates through assignments in both inpatient & outpatient pharmacy, functioning independently within each area. Has complex functions within pharmacy service including inpatient medication preparation & distribution, sterile intravenous admixture preparation, automated equipment use & maintenance, filling of outpatient controlled substances in preparation for pharmacist verification, mail order reject assessment, & other complex duties.

Major Duties:

• VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Responsible for computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent. Resolves pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers. Dispenses medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies & procedures to ensure safe medication distribution. Troubleshoots automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases. Accurately interpret, fills, & prepares prescriptions with appropriate medications &/or medical supplies for pharmacist verification. Maintains work areas in a clean & orderly condition by assuring that all stock and equipment are in assigned places & all shelves & counters are free of dust & debris in order to create optimal work areas. Assures drugs & supplies are appropriately stored & secured according to USP & VA guidelines, including the storage of high-risk, look a-like sound a-like, hazardous, controlled substances, corrosive chemical, flammable liquids, & refrigerated items. Receives, checks, rotates, & places in stock all items received from pharmacy procurement section & identifies & reconciles any discrepancies to assure correct items have been received. Utilizes automation dispensing equipment available to the pharmacy staff following all safety & QA procedures. Reports automation malfunctions timely the supervisor as appropriate. Records expiration dates in the automatic prescription dispensing system upon receipt. Perform monthly inspections to assigned areas to ensure proper storage of medications & soon to expired drugs are removed. Completes inspection reports in compliance with regulatory requirements. Compounds &/or reconstitutes oral or external medications (non-sterile). This includes calculating & converting to proper weights & measures the amount of drug or solution to be used for final pharmacist verification. Answers questions from pharmacy & non-pharmacy personnel regarding drug distribution. Identifies basic therapeutic problems, such as duplicate therapy with drugs in the same class & alerts the pharmacist to the possible need for clinical intervention. Assists in training & orientation of new staff technicians, interns, & students. Assumes an active role in the overall pharmacy-training program consisting of students, externs, interns, residents, & professional and non-professional staff members. Participates in performance improvement initiatives for pharmacy. Assists in quality improvement activities by participating in assessment & action teams that will improve service as assigned. Completes all National, VISN, local, & Pharmacy mandatory trainings in a timely manner. Maintains national certification with PTCB or ExCPT Complies with all VHA, Medical Center, & Pharmacy regulations, directives, policies, & procedures. Accurately fills prescription items for wards using Automatic Replenishment reports. Ensures all look alike, sound alike, high alert, refrigerated medications are stored properly according to manufactures recommendations and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requirement. Monitors refrigerator temperature on a daily basis in pharmacy service. Assists with medication recalls within the pharmacy and healthcare system. Correctly packages medications for shipment to patients or to Community Based Outpatient Clinics. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, Various rotating day shifts. 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. Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 59275-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Qualifications: *** This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until April 30, 2026 or until the position is filled. The initial cutoff date for referral of eligible applications will be January 14, 2026. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as needed basis until positions are filled. *** 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: 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 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 (GS-06), 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). Grade Determinations: Pharmacy Technician, GS-07 (above full-performance) Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-06). Assignments at the GS-06 level. Fill orders, dispense/deliver medications using automated systems or provide technical customer service to Veterans related to prescription needs. Duties will include delivery of medications to floors/patients, filling medications for the pharmacist to review, checking for expired medications, answering phones with appropriate disposition, preparing sterile products (when applicable) and assisting with basic inventory management such as putting up stock and identifying when medications need to be ordered. Assignments at the GS-07 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 are nationally certified and can work autonomously using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties. These pharmacy technicians mentor and train lower graded pharmacy technicians in the practice setting. They assist advanced/ specialized pharmacy technicians and participate in performance improvement initiatives. At this level, pharmacy technicians use independent judgement to perform the full range of duties in the pharmacy. They also function as staff pharmacy technicians in various locations of the pharmacy, including pharmacy contact centers and other non-traditional pharmacy locations, with minimal oversight. Certification. Must 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 all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work. (b) Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent. (c) Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers. (d) Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students. (e) Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution. (f) Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases. Preferred Experience: PTCB Certified Prior experience as a pharmacy technician 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-7. Physical Requirements: This position provides services to patients and their families. Incumbents must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Normal work of the position requires visual acuity (with the ability to read typewritten characters without strain, corrective lenses permitted), keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, manual dexterity. This position may require reaching above shoulder-level height and requires potentially moderate levels of lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds). This position requires long periods of sitting, standing and walking. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 04/30/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12858669. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2026-04-30