Clinical Pharmacist Specialist- Pediatric Critical Care, - Full-Time, Days

Job Description

Be a part of a world-class academic healthcare system, UChicago Medicine, as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. As a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, you will be a registered pharmacist who assumes responsibility and accountability for the provision of safe, effective, and prompt medication therapy.

Through a dedicated assignment within the Pediatric ICU, this individual will deliver optimal medication therapy to patients with a broad range of disease states and provide additional support of decentralized medication use systems. Clinical Pharmacy Specialists proficiently provide direct patient-centered care and integrated pharmacy services in a fully decentralized practice setting with physicians, nurses, and other hospital personnel through participation in prospective chart review, provision of education to providers and patients, communication to the multidisciplinary team, and participation in various patient care activities in relevant patient care areas. These clinicians are aligned with target interdisciplinary programs to deliver medication therapy management within their relevant patient care services and to ensure pharmaceutical care programs are appropriately integrated throughout the institution. In these clinical roles, Clinical Pharmacy Specialists participate in all necessary aspects of the medication-use system while providing comprehensive and individualized pharmaceutical care to the patients in their assigned areas. Pharmaceutical care services include but are not limited to prospective patient review, assessment of patient needs, incorporation of age and disease specific characteristics into drug therapy and patient education, adjustment of care according to patient response, and provision of clinical interventions to detect, mitigate, and prevent medication adverse events. Clinical Pharmacy Specialists serve as departmental resources and liaisons to other departments, hospital personnel, or external groups. They proficiently manage and facilitate the appropriate use of medications according to professional and regulatory standards. They also conduct clinical research and practice advancement projects as well as patient care quality and regulatory compliance initiatives and guidelines designed to improve medication-use processes or pharmacy practice. Clinical Pharmacy Specialists provide medication and practice-related education/training and actively serve as preceptors for doctor of pharmacy students and pharmacy residents.

Essential Job Functions

• Leads assigned patient service lines, clinical areas, and therapeutic programs
• Facilitates pharmaceutical care services, direct patient care programs, medication utilization systems within assigned services and care areas to ensure drug utilization activities are aligned with patient care needs, evidence-based best practices, and regulatory standards
• Designs and implements new pharmacy programs, quality improvement changes, and continuous quality assurance initiatives to advance the organization’s medication-use systems and promote optimal patient outcomes
• Designs and implements stewardship activities and restriction/surveillance programs
• Tracks and evaluates assigned pharmacy programs for operational, quality, and financial efficiency and routinely benchmarks against local and national best practices
• Actively identifies practice related issues which require evaluation and facilitate clinical research projects, quality improvement initiatives, or healthcare provider education as needed to advance practice
• Identifies and reports short- and long-term obstacles to patient care and medication safety, regulatory compliance, or stewardship of resources
• Develops and oversees policies and procedures for drug purchasing, drug usage, drug distribution, and drug control
• Provides departmental and institutional leadership for medical staff committees/meetings, hospital groups/task forces, and approved external programs/organizations
• Ensures pharmacy is an integral part of the health-care delivery system and facilitates enhancement and expansion of pharmacy services/programs
• Delivers direct patient care and clinical practice, including decentralized and service-based programs
• Maintains proficiency in decentralized pharmacy services and clinical pharmacy programs
• Places practice priority on the delivery of patient-centered care
• Works as an active member of multidisciplinary team and collaborates with healthcare providers within the hospital in the relevant patient care areas/units
• Establishes collaborative pharmacist-patient relationships
• Participates in multidisciplinary rounding
• Proficiently maintains patient information and efficiently interprets patients’ health care needs including patient problem lists and prioritized pharmacist interventions
• Collects and documents accurate patient medication histories and reconcile discrepancies versus orders
• Identifies high-risk patients and implements interventions to improve quality and safety
• Makes appropriate evidence-based, patient-centered medication recommendations
• Implements, evaluates, and redesigns pharmaceutical care plans based on patient progress and evolving goals for medication usage, including drug dosing, monitoring (including nutritional support, pharmacokinetic monitoring, and anticoagulation therapy, etc.)
• Provides written documentation in the patient’s medical record when requested or directed
• Participates in the management of medical emergencies
• Provides discharge medication review, reconciliation, and counseling as appropriate
• Provides evidence-based medication education to physicians, nurses, and other professionals
• Educates patients regarding safe and effective use of medications, possible medication side effects, and the role of prescribed medications in the overall therapeutic care plan
• Maintains Medical Staff credentials as appropriate for practice assignments
• Provides pharmaceutical services throughout medical center
• Maintains proficiency in hospital computer systems and medication ordering systems
• Provides accurate, safe, timely, and appropriate medication therapy based on patient age and needs
• Interprets, evaluates, and accurately processes medication orders while functioning in a decentralized role on relevant patient care units
• Identifies, mitigates, prevents, and documents problems with medication orders or therapeutic regimens, including medication errors or adverse drug reactions
• Completes critical patient monitoring and reviews patient profile/chart to identify, prevent, or mitigate drug-related problems, improper drug or dose selection, sub therapeutic dosage, over dosage, adverse drug reactions, drug interactions, failure to receive drugs, untreated indications, medication use without an indication, and treatment failures
• Communicates effectively and appropriately with healthcare providers and caregivers (physicians, nurses, etc.) and assures continuity of pharmaceutical care between shifts and among staff
• Provides timely, comprehensive, and appropriate drug information to patients and healthcare providers
• Actively participates in stewardship activities and restricted medication programs
• Follows established standard work parameters and maintains standard work environments
• Documents pharmacist interventions in Epic (iVent)
• Participates in pharmacy operations, remote order verification, and optimizes operational processes to improve patient care and/or reduce medication errors
• Maintains proficiency in and actively engages in operational programs as appropriate for job assignment
• Facilitates specialty medication procurement, ordering, and dispensing procedures including but not limited to chemotherapy, parenteral nutrition, controlled substances, etc. as appropriate for assignment
• Effectively and efficiently utilizes pharmacy automation and supportive technology
• Evaluates and optimizes the electronic medical record, in conjunction with pharmacy and medical informatics, to improve processes and reduce medication errors (e.g., development and review of order sets, clinical decision support)
• Provides medication or drug class reviews to optimize the medication formulary
• Facilitates experiential education and practice advancement
• Maintains proficiency in the four preceptor roles and actively emulates education/mentorship skills
• Serves as a preceptor/educator for UCMC pharmacy residency and student experiential education programs, including maintaining training and experience in pharmacy practice areas appropriate for teaching assignments
• Develops student, resident, and staff training experiences/competencies and creates new relationships for teaching and training opportunities
• Identifies, designs, and implements improvements in the medication-use system to advance patient safety, maximize therapeutic outcomes, or control costs
• Represents the department at hospital meetings, committees, and events as requested
• Develops guidelines or policies related to patient care in their relevant practice setting
• Performs research or quality improvement projects to optimize patient care and increase clinical knowledge
• Performs other duties as assigned
  

Required Qualifications

• Graduate of an ACPE-accredited School of Pharmacy
• Completion of ASHP accredited PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency required and PGY-2 Pediatric Pharmacy Residency (or equivalent experience).
• Knowledge of contemporary hospital/clinical practice and service.
• Knowledge and understanding of general hospital operations and regulatory compliance.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to interact constructively with supervisors, peers, and support personnel.
• Ability to integrate clinical and distributive pharmacy services with quality improvement, teaching, research, and professional development activities.
• Significant general clinical knowledge and expertise in traditional therapeutics and patient centered care.
• Significant knowledge and expertise in advanced pharmacy practice, specialty medication therapy management, and specialty evidence-based medicine in area appropriate for clinical assignments.
• Strong teaching and precepting skills and expertise in experiential training.
• Eligible for licensure as a pharmacist in the state of Illinois or eligible (complete licensure process within 60 days of employment).
• Board Certification in area of expertise is required within 18 months of hire (ie. BCPPS, etc.).
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Clinical pharmacy experience (2-4 years) in a hospital setting preferred (required if no PGY-2 residency).
  
  

Position Details

• Job Type/FTE: Full Time (1.00)
• Shift: Day
• Unit/Department: Inpatient Pharmacy
• CBA Code: Non-Union
  
  

In this role, we anticipate that you will generally work approximately 40 hours per week. We anticipate that you will generally be scheduled to work the day shift,and will not be scheduled for on-call shifts. We anticipate you will be scheduled to work 100% at the Hyde Park campus. The days of the week that you are scheduled will be Monday-Friday, and a rotating weekend schedule.

Why Join Us

We’ve been at the forefront of medicine since 1899. We provide superior healthcare with compassion, always mindful that each patient is a person, an individual. To accomplish this, we need employees with passion, talent and commitment… with patients and with each other. We’re in this together: working to advance medical innovation, serve the health needs of the community, and move our collective knowledge forward. If you’d like to add enriching human life to your profile, The University of Chicago Medicine is for you. Here at the forefront, we’re doing work that really matters. Join us. Bring your passion.

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Bring your career to the next level at a hospital that is thriving; from patient satisfaction to employee engagement, we are at the Forefront of Medicine. Take advantage of all we have to offer and #BringYourPassiontotheForefront.

University of Chicago Medicine is growing; discover how you can be a part of this pursuit of excellence at: www.uchospitals.edu/jobs

The University of Chicago Medical Center is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, civil union status, parental status, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status and other legally protected characteristics.