Staff Pharmacist

The Inpatient Staff Pharmacist is responsible for the evaluation, preparation and dispensing of medications from the Augusta Health Inpatient Pharmacy in accordance with all applicable professional standards, facility procedures, and legal requirements. 

Primary job duties include:  

• Primarily works as a pharmacist in the main pharmacy and it's satellites. Rotates through the first and second shifts, every 3rd weekend, and the occasional 3rd shift. 
• While on duty, ensure that all drug procurement, storage, preparation, distribution, and dispensing activities are performed in a manner that ensures full compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and national standards of practice.
• Supervise pharmacy technicians, technician trainees, and pharmacist interns while on duty. This includes monitoring, prioritizing, and directing workflow and workload. Checks technician work for accuracy, completeness, and quality; ensures appropriate techniques are utilized in the preparation, compounding, and dispensing of all medications for correct dose, dosage form, and time, and are consistent with department policy.
• Oversee the distribution and handling of all controlled substances including record keeping, documentation, accuracy, and resolution of medication discrepancies.
• Demonstrates knowledge of metric weights and measures, pharmaceutics, medications mechanism of action, routes of administration, proper administration concentrations, the appropriate rate of administration, and medication incompatibilities; demonstrates problem-solving skills regarding difficult medication therapy problems and pharmacy issues.
• Assist in the maintenance and optimization of pharmacy automation and other software technologies.
• Review medication orders for completeness, accuracy, and legality, determining the presence of medication therapy problems in a patient’s current medication therapy.
• Displays initiative in preventing, identifying, and resolving pharmacy care problems, including following up with appropriate healthcare professional on medication-related issues.
• Ensures that medication regimen is consistent with the Augusta Health Drug Formulary, and all medication use guidelines and policies.
• Initiate drug therapy regimens as authorized by protocols, including the ordering of laboratory tests to monitor drug therapy for safety and efficacy. Coordinate ordering, timing, and evaluation of serum drug concentrations, dose adjustments for altered renal function, intermittent dialysis, and continuous renal replacement therapy, convert routes of medication administration, modify therapy to standardized doses as needed, and provide recommendations for pharmacokinetic follow-up for appropriate drugs.
• Provide reliable drug information to physicians, nurses, patients, caregivers, and other members of the health care team.
• Engage in the training of pharmacy students through participation in IPPE and APPE-related activities.
• Assist in the monitoring, prevention, reporting, and coordination of performance improvement activities. Pharmacists identify and report adverse drug events, drug interactions, and medication errors as well as serve on department- and organization-wide committees and ensure organizational compliance with accreditation standards related to medication use systems

License Requirements:

• Licensed as a Pharmacist by the Commonwealth of Virginia

Skill Desired:

• Effectively reads, writes, speaks, and understands English; possesses strong communication, interpersonal and customer service skills.
• Strong critical-thinking and problem-solving skills; able to troubleshoot problems and suggest solutions.
• Comfortable working in a busy, fast-paced environment while staying organized and demonstrating attention to detail.
• Ability to be a team leader and work within a team.
• Willingness to learn new skills and adapt to change.
• Demonstrates a high level of patience and compassion when working with patients and customers.
• Ability to learn and use pharmacy software.

Organization Information
Come join the Augusta Health team located in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley in Fishersville, VA. Augusta Health is an independent, community hospital recognized as one of Healthgrades’ 50 Best Hospitals in America. Our mission is to promote the health and well-being of our community through access to excellent care. We build trust and peace of mind through our core values of patient-and community-centeredness, professionalism, excellence, and teamwork.

Equal OpportunityAugusta Health recruits, hires and promotes qualified candidates for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran or military discharge status, and family medical or genetic information.

About Augusta Health:

Augusta Health opened in 1994 to continue a tradition of personalized care with small-town hospitality that began with predecessor hospitals in Staunton and Waynesboro. Today, our highly trained physicians and staff use state-of-the-art technology to provide top quality care with warmth and compassion. We offer many amenities so patients and families can be comfortable and close during difficult times Quick Stats for 2022 255 beds 225 active medical staff 2,450 employees 50 volunteers 74 hospice volunteers 59,573 emergency visits 10,324 admissions 892 babies delivered 549 new cancer patients 585,703 outpatient visits to Augusta Medical Group clinics 293,795 other Outpatient Registrations (this includes Home Health, Laboratory, Outpatient Surgery, Imaging, etc.) 61,166 Urgent Care Visits

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