Pharmacist

At Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, we welcome diversity; we encourage, uplift, and are honored to serve people who have been historically underrepresented and underserved. Our mission is to provide high-quality, culturally appropriate healthcare to low-income residents of Washington and Yamhill Counties, with a special emphasis on seasonal and migrant farm workers and others with barriers to receiving healthcare. We strive to provide an inclusive environment that welcomes and values the diversity of the people we employ and serve.

If you are unsure whether you meet all of the required qualifications for this role but are interested and passionate about this potential position, we encourage you to apply.

Starting Salary: $141,146/yr DOE
Schedule: Monday-Friday 9:00am-6:00pm

Job Summary:  The role of the Pharmacist will be to deliver quality pharmacy services, collaborating with primary care physicians and staff to improve the health of Virginia Garcia patients.  Pharmacy services will include assisting medical personnel and patients with drug information and identification, developing and sustaining productive patient relationships, evaluating and resolving potential drug therapy problems identified through any and all available sources, patient counseling, prescription verification, adherence to state and federal pharmacy laws, precepting students and interns, assisting with supervision of technical staff, pharmacy cashier and support staff, and participation in projects assigned by Pharmacy Director.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Review and enter prescription on computer software, fill and label prescriptions, or supervise technical staff as they become capable of taking over these functions.
• Resolve clinical questions regarding patient prescription with provider staff; answer clinical questions from provider staff, researching when necessary.
• Counsel patients on all new prescriptions, utilizing assistance from bilingual staff; willing to acquire Spanish skills to counsel patients solo, over time.
• Medication Therapy Management (MTM) involving assessing the patient, screening for drug interactions and adverse effects, providing disease/medication education and exploring opportunities to simplify and/or decrease the cost of the medication regimen.
• Supervise performance and accuracy of technical staff as required by Oregon Law, offering guidance and troubleshooting errors as they occur.  Supervise pharmacy cashier and support staff, to ensure quality customer service, observance of HIPAA requirements regarding patient confidentiality, and the highest regard for patients of Virginia Garcia.
• May include precepting pharmacy students; from various pharmacy schools and pharmacy tech schools, attending or presenting in-services in conjunction with medical staff; participation in clinic committees; assisting with training pharmacy technicians; medication reviews, (MTM) and other pharmacy services.
• Projects assigned appropriately based on professional skill areas, experience and interest
• Supervise relief pharmacist(s) if needed during Director’s absence.
• Responsible for day-to-day operation of the pharmacy either as PIC or in lieu of PIC when the Director is unavailable .
• Perform other duties as assigned .
• Handle protected health information (PHI) in a manner consistent with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

HIPAA Requirements:

The pharmacist will have access to PHI in the course of carrying out his/her duties.  The       pharmacist will use PHI to provide medications to patients, to evaluate medication profiles for quality of care and safety, and to consult with providers regarding patients’ medications.  The pharmacist will also be involved in overall quality of care discussions with the other health care providers at the Center.  Applying the minimum necessary standard of HIPAA, the designated record sets to which this employee will have access include:  the full medical record, the pharmacy patient chart, the demographic and scheduling information of the practice management systems and all information in the pharmacy management computer system including billing and insurance information, prescription files, and patient profiles.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

• Good patient, provider and staff communication skills, Spanish skills desired.
• Strong commitment to working with patients and staff from a wide range of ethnic, economic, cultural and social backgrounds.

Education and Experience Required:

• Registered Pharmacist in good standing with the State of Oregon, B.S. or Pharm.D degree.  Preceptor registration desired, or eligible.
• Additional training or clinical pharmacy experience desired, which may include disease state management, long-term care or institutional pharmacy experience, pharmacy students, or collaborative work with physicians/NP/RNs.

State and Federal Pharmacy Requirements:

Staff pharmacist(s) must not have any sanctions or restrictions on pharmacy license.  May be required to submit to background check; may be required to have drug screening at request of supervisor. Must be willing to submit to drug testing if requested by supervisor.

Behavioral Competencies:

Accountability

• Role model VG’s mission, vision, and shared values

Customer-Focus

• Listen to the voice of the customer and strive to delight them by exceeding their expectations

Teamwork

• If someone needs help, help them

Initiative

• Be innovative, apply fresh ideas, and continuously improve how you do your work

Confidentiality

• Maintain strict confidentiality and respect the privacy of others

Ethical

• Demonstrate integrity, honesty, and stewardship in all encounters at work

Respect

• Demonstrate consideration and appreciation for co-workers and patients

Communication

• Demonstrate the ability to convey thoughts and ideas as well as understand perspective of others

Physical Requirements:

     Percentage of time spent

• Standing/Walking: up to 90%
• Sitting: up to 5%
• Lifting/Carrying: may occasionally life up to 30 lbs
• May occasionally stoop, bend; will reach frequently.
• May use step stool occasionally.
• Must be able to type.
• Must be able to open and close prescription and patient vials.
• Must be able to read for extended periods.

Working Environment/Physical Hazards:

• Work in well-lighted, ventilated environment.
• Will be exposed to drug vapor or particles (powdered antibiotics that are reconstituted, for example).
• May be exposed to blood borne pathogens, if pharmacist participates in disease state management activities.
• May be exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals occasionally.

Equipment Used:

Office equipment

• Computer: Pharmacy software, databases and word processing
• Telephone: must be able to hear and communicate
• Fax/copier
• Cash register (all employees required to have basic training)

Pharmacy equipment

• Automated tablet counting machine
• Electronic ordering devise

Immunization:

Staff member must meet immunizations requirements as stated in VGMHC’s immunization policy.

Job description represent a general outline of the essential and major job duties, functions and qualifications required.  They cannot be all-inclusive and comprehensive due to the dynamic nature of work performed to accomplish VGMHC’s Mission.

VGMHC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  No person is unlawfully excluded from consideration for employment because of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, veteran status, marital status or physical challenges.  The policy applies not only to recruitment and hiring practices, but also includes affirmative action in the area of placement, promotion, transfer, rate of pay and termination.