Inpatient Pediatric Acute Care Clinical & Central Operations Pharmacist

Department Overview

The purpose of this position is to provide the services of a licensed pharmacist, which includes the responsibility for the safe and proper distribution and use of medications in inpatients and outpatients who range in age from neonates, infants less than one year of age, children and adolescents ages 10–18, adults ages 19–65, and the elderly over age 65.

 

The pharmacist functions at a high level of clinical decision-making, proactively influencing drug therapy by making recommendations at the point of prescribing or, in some cases, making independent therapy decisions

in collaboration with other healthcare team members. Additional services provided include facilitation of medication reconciliation, discharge counseling, and medication delivery through coordination of care from admission to discharge. The pharmacist must possess strong communication skills for patient education and work collaboratively with inpatient and outpatient interdisciplinary teams including, but not limited to,  providers, nurses, case workers, pharmacists, and technicians, as well as contributing to the teaching and precepting of students, interns, and/or residents.

 

This position will report to Inpatient Central Operations leadership and is designed to support both centralized

operational functions and decentralized clinical services, with opportunities to cross-train and provide coverage across other inpatient service lines based on operational needs. 

 

This is a flexible model where coordination during transitions of care and medication use for patients is integrated with traditionally centralized functions, such as order entry/verifications, while also supporting decentralized clinical service needs. This model will continue to evolve as part of an integrated decentralized

patient care practice.

Function/Duties of Position

• Identifies, resolves and documents complex therapeutic problems, demonstrating advanced knowledge and application of this knowledge to a specific patient population. 

• Responds accurately to requests for drug information from physicians, nurses, patients and patient's families; independently reviews and interprets the literature and applies this information to specific patient care situations. 

• Monitors therapeutic response and adverse effects of medications to guide drug therapy. Consults with provider when questions or problems are identified and documents activities in the patient medical record. Appropriately reports all adverse drug reactions, drug defects, and medication errors. 

• Supervise the activities and assume responsibility for all duties being performed by technicians, students, interns, and residents and monitor and evaluate their performance.

• Influences standards of therapy by forming peer level relationships with attending medical staff members; is recognized as a drug authority in their practice area by physicians, nurses and pharmacists. 

• Assists in the development of treatment guidelines to be used in patients with specific diagnosis. Documents activities in the patient medical record, pharmacy monitoring profile, drug use evaluation data collection or adverse drug reaction reporting program. 

• Interprets and evaluates physician's orders and prescriptions for accuracy, completeness and appropriateness. Documents activities of clinical decision or medication distribution issues that are not in line with the standard of practice, require follow-up, or continued monitoring/evaluation. Verify the accuracy and appropriateness of medications prepared and dispensed from the central pharmacy. 

• Participates in both intra and interdepartmental education programs; participates in the development of peers.

• Assists in the reconciliation of medications, education of patients regarding their home medication regimens, and coordination of the discharge medication plan with the interdisciplinary team. Documents activities in the patient medical record.

Required Qualifications

• A current Pharmacist’s license issued by the Oregon State Board of Pharmacy.
• PGY1 Practice Residency or Equivalent Experience (defined as 3 years of direct patient care experience, with at least 50% time spent in pharmacotherapy activities as defined by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties.)
• BS in Pharmacy or Pharm.D

Job Related Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (Competencies): 

• Enforce pharmaceutical care principles safely and accurately
• Make age-related modification of drug therapy
• Make disease-related modification of drug therapy
• Evaluate medical literature
• Set priorities to respond quickly to emergent situations/requests
• Enforce practice guidelines, standards, and medication related policies
• Perform key computer related skills including use of the EMR, common word processing, spreadsheet, medical literature and medication databases

Preferred Qualifications

• PGY2 Residency in applicable area of specialty practice
• Specialist Certifications (BCPS, BCOPS, etc.)

Additional Details

The pharmacist will experience competing demands from nurses, physicians, pharmacy staff, and other healthcare professionals as they attempt to influence clinical decision-making, clinical policies, and practices and workflow. The pharmacist must deal with intense situations on a daily basis. In addition, within the healthcare setting, there can be significant lack of control over the work pace, with frequent interruptions (work is often dictated by external factors) that may lead to mental fatigue or stress. 

 

This position requires flexibility to support both centralized operations and decentralized clinical services, including Monday-Sunday (0630-1500, 1430-2300) (with every other weekend availability) and overnight coverage (2100-0730). 

 

Staffing assignments may vary between central and decentral areas based on operational needs. 

 

Benefits:

• Healthcare Options - Covered 100% for full-time employees and 88% for dependents, and $25K of term life insurance provided at no cost to the employee
• Two separate above market pension plans to choose from
• Vacation- up to 200 hours per year depending on length of service
• Sick Leave- up to 96 hours per year
• 8 paid holidays per year
• Substantial Tri-met and C-Tran discounts
• Additional Programs including: Tuition Reimbursement and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

All are welcome

Oregon Health & Science University values a diverse and culturally competent workforce. We are proud of our commitment to being an equal opportunity, affirmative action organization that does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of any protected class status, including disability status and protected veteran status. Individuals with diverse backgrounds and those who promote diversity and a culture of inclusion are encouraged to apply. To request reasonable accommodation contact the Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Department at 503-494-5148 or [email protected].