Pharmacy Technician

At the Indian Health Service, Pharmacy Technicians do more than support the Pharmacy Department. Guided by our mission to raise the health of American Indian and Alaska Native people, you'll deliver compassionate care where it's needed most. A REAL ID will be required beginning May 7, 2025, in accordance with 6 C.F.R. 37.5 (2021).

Major duties
Total Compensation Package – Check out IHS's outstanding total compensation package for this job: Pharmacy Technician Total Compensation All Grade levels MAY NOT be available at all locations. Performs full-performance prescription preparation by selecting, counting, measuring, and packaging medications in the correct dosage forms and strengths. Operates automated dispensing, printing, labeling, and packaging systems and resolves routine equipment or workflow issues. Maintains pharmacy inventory by monitoring stock levels, rotating products, identifying shortages or overages, checking expiration dates, and recording discrepancies. Communicates clearly and professionally while maintaining confidentiality and referring all medication related clinical questions to a pharmacist.

Qualifications
To qualify for this position, your resume must state sufficient experience and/or education, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are applying. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week. BASIC REQUIREMENT(S): Individual Occupational Requirements Specialized Experience For positions at GS-4 and above: Qualifying specialized experience may have been gained in hospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies, or in pharmaceutical firms or laboratories. Experience must have provided a basic knowledge of: Pharmaceutical nomenclature; Characteristics, strengths, and dosage forms of pharmaceuticals; Pharmaceutical systems of weights and measures; and the Variety of procedures and techniques involved in the care, storage, repackaging, bulk compounding, and distribution of pharmaceuticals. OR Education and Training For GS-5: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study in pharmacy, or that included at least 24 semester hours in pharmacy-related courses. Successful completion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or hospital training obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces or the U.S. Maritime Service under close medical and professional supervision is creditable on a month-for-month basis for general experience. Successful completion of pertinent specialized training courses in pharmaceutical and pharmacy practices while serving in the Armed Forces is creditable on a month-for-month basis up to the 1 year of specialized experience required for GS-5. In addition to the Basic Requirements, you must also meet the Minimum Qualifications stated below. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: GS-5: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-4 grade level AND/OR 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation, if required. GS-6: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-5 grade level. Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector performing the following type of work and/or tasks: Examples of Specialized Experience GS-5: Maintaining pharmacy storeroom and hospital drug stocks. Recognizing appropriate auxiliary warnings and packaging requirements of drugs dispensed. Assisting pharmacy staff in filling out outpatient prescriptions under a pharmacist's supervision. GS-6: Performing pharmaceutical procurement and inventory management. Filling prescriptions utilizing automated dispensing equipment. Calculating doses to match physician's order with pharmacy stocks and filling prescriptions. Combining Experience and Education: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience are also qualifying. The combinations described below are those most typical for these positions, i.e., for grades GS-3 through GS-5. If education is used to meet specialized experience requirements, then such education must include courses directly related to the work of the position. (When crediting education, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.) Time In Grade Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade Requirements: Merit Promotion (status) candidates must have completed one year of service at the next lower grade level. Time-In-Grade provisions do not apply under the Excepted Service Examining Plan (ESEP). You must meet all qualification requirements by the respective cutoff day of rating to be eligible for consideration.

How to apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. You may update your application documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. Upon application, you may be provided a testing window to complete additional assessments. This testing window may stipulate a completion deadline before the announcement closes. It is your responsibility to complete the additional online assessments within the timeline provided to remain in consideration for this vacancy announcement. Failure to complete the online assessments within the testing window for this announcement will not preclude you from being considered for and completing the online assessments during a testing window on a future announcement. For additional questions please see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) found here: https://www.ihs.gov/jobs/faq/.