Clinical Pharmacist, Rotating

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General Summary

At UMMC, the Clinical Pharmacist interprets and evaluates physicians’ medication orders, ensures appropriate preparation, packaging, delivery, storage, and monitoring of prescribed medications, manages pharmacy support personnel and pharmacy work areas, ensures compliance with established policies, standards, practices, and values of the department, institution and profession, educates, advises, consults and trains UMMC patients, patient families, and health care professionals and staff

Principal Responsibilities and Tasks

The following statements describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals within this classification. Specific clinical situations may dictate that additional duties be performed by personnel so classified in order to effectively meet patient needs.

Provides pharmaceutical care to individual patients. Promotes optimal drug therapy and safe use of medications by applying medication use guidelines, standards and regulations to individual patients. Specific processes include: assessment of patient-specific data to evaluate the patient’s status and medication needs; medication preparation, dispensing and distribution; medication administration; monitoring; patient/family education; the prevention, detection and resolution of drug-related problems. (May include patients seen in any patient care setting of the medical center as described in the Department of Pharmacy Scope of Services Statement.)

• Receives and interprets providers’ prescription/drug orders for individual patients. Acknowledges prescription orders using computerized system. Assures prescription orders are filled properly and provides a final check.
• Screens orders and completes a medication profile review in order to detect and/or resolve drug-related problems (drug-drug interactions, drug-food interactions).
• Demonstrates the ability to apply basic pharmacokinetic monitoring of drugs.
• Collaborates with other members of the health care team, provides medication counseling for patients/family of the medical center.
• Consults with medical staff when necessary or requested. Consults with nursing staff.

Manages the pharmacy. Acts in accordance with the mission, vision, values of the pharmacy department and medical center. Maintains established department policies, procedures, objectives, and quality assurance program, safety, environmental and infection control, and generally accepted pharmacy practices and, state and federal laws.

• Provides front-line management of service areas such as pharmacy satellites, IV admixture lab, or ambulatory pharmacy settings. Possesses the required supervisory skills to accomplish daily activities accurately and in a timely manner. Oversees and directs the work of pharmacy technicians and other supportive personnel. Ensures that the department’s service standards are not burdened by lack of punctuality or attendance.
• May include organization and synthesis of work schedules to allocate resources to workload based on productivity standards.
• Oversees the central compounding and preparation of intravenous admixtures and other sterile products. Demonstrates the ability to schedule work production to assure timely delivery of completed products to customers. Adheres to published standards (e.g. ASHP, The Joint Commission, USP, OSHA) for sterile products preparation.
• Participates in orientation and training of new employees.
• Ensures proper handling of hazardous materials by observing and demonstrating safety procedures and or “universal precautions” as appropriate.
• Ensures compliance with investigation and drug protocols. Maintains research records as appropriate including requirements for informed consent.

Provides timely drug information in a professional manner to the public and health care professionals through accurate interpretation of appropriate medical and pharmaceutical references. May include provision of services in a formalized drug or poison information center.

• Possesses satisfactory oral communication skills to ensure the timely and accurate transmission of pertinent information to the appropriate individuals.
• Identifies the need for and is effective in retrieving drug information and applying it to general patient care questions. Drug information may include dosage, indications, drug interactions, drug compatibility, mechanism of action, drug administration, etc.
• Assesses need for the depth of information and either delegates, refers, or responds accordingly.

Provides educational services, including professional development and training of pharmacists, pharmacy students, pharmacy technicians, nurses, physicians, other health care professionals. Evaluates the depth and comprehensiveness of the education required for the specific situation at hand.

Maintains medication distribution and control systems. Includes appropriate management of inventory control systems. Involves development and ongoing maintenance of medication use systems designed for the storage, preparation, dispensing, distribution and administration of medications. Participates in performance improvement activities. Possesses knowledge and can apply and suggest improvements to established policies and procedures and operational processes.

Manages care, quality, and costs. Involves the systematic and continuous process of evaluating and improving the utilization of medications in a patient population in order to enhance the quality, safety, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the medication use process.

Participates in the Medication Error/Adverse Drug Event Process including Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) surveillance and reporting. The Clinical Pharmacist participates in this program by collecting appropriate event information and ensuring that reports are appropriately completed and forwarded to the UMMC Medication Safety Officer.

Participates in the ongoing system of formulary management by screening new drug orders against guidelines for use and following procedures for the handling of non-formulary requests.

Engages in performance improvement and professional development initiatives. Demonstrates a commitment to expanding knowledge base and skills in the areas of pharmaceutical sciences, practice management and/or pharmaceutical care services for the purpose of improving patient safety, ensuring effective medication use and enhancing job satisfaction.

• Meets continuing education requirements for state licensure.
• Participates in educational programs aimed at addressing departmental goals and objectives.
• Participates in required therapeutic in-services.
• Participates in annual competency re-assessment including (but not limited to) pharmacokinetics/renal dosing and medication safety.

Enhances customer relations and adheres to the values of the department and institution. Interacts with internal and external customers of the Medical Center in a respectful, courteous, and tactful manner to foster the delivery of quality patient care and employee services. Respectfully responds to the needs and concerns of patients, visitors, and fellow employees.

Demonstrates knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the patient populations(s) served. Demonstrates knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span and possesses the ability to assess data reflective of the patient's requirements relative to his or her population-specific and age specific needs. Provides the care needed as described in the unit/area/department policies and procedures.

Other related professional duties as required including participation in routine staff meetings.

• A baccalaureate degree in pharmacy from a college or university accredited by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy is required. (Entry level doctorate of pharmacy is acceptable in lieu of a BS degree and is preferred). Current licensure by the Maryland State Board of Pharmacy is required.
• Completion of a pharmacy residency program or equivalent practice experience in an integrated health care system, which includes an acute care hospital, or equivalent, is preferred.
• Knowledge of generally accepted pharmacy principles, practices, and procedures; pharmacology and therapeutics; drug information systems are required.
• Possess the following skills: ability to identify, prevent and resolve drug-related problems; drug information retrieval; patient and family medication counseling skills; customer service skills.
• Ability to use computer system to manage patient information. Ability to operate other automated technology including robotics in support of the medication use process.
• Highly effective verbal communication skills are necessary in order to work with medical, nursing and various allied health staff in order to successfully provide optimal patient care.
• Ability to provide front-line management of pharmacy supportive personnel in order to optimize the medication use process.
• Ability to demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served on the assigned unit. The individual must demonstrate knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span and possess the ability to assess data reflective of the patient's requirements relative to his or her age-specific needs, and to provide the care needed as described in the unit/area/department policies and procedures.

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