Full-time Staff Pharmacist

Description

Lexington Regional Health Center

Title: Staff Pharmacist

Supervisor: Director of Pharmacy Services

Department: Pharmacy

FLSA Status: Exempt

Principle duties and responsibilities

1. Provides drug information and/or patient oriented services to patients (newborn, young adult, adult and geriatric), health care providers and other health care professionals.
2. Implements and follows policies and procedures that promote the effective, appropriate and safe use of drugs in all patient care activities in the hospital.
3. In addition to Staff Pharmacist responsibilities, fulfills all responsibilities outlined in the Job Description of a Pharmacy Technician; this includes restocking Med Dispense machines, filling patient medication drawers and mixing/preparing medications to be dispensed.
4. Verifies and reviews all orders related to medications on the pharmacy patient profile.
5. Participates in all committees, task forces and functions as assigned.
6. Implements recommendations of various committees throughout the hospital (e.g. Patient Care, Patient Safety, Medical Staff, etc).
7. Discusses pharmaceutical patient care issues with healthcare providers on patient rounds throughout the day and makes appropriate changes as ordered by the provider to ensure high quality patient focused pharmacy services.
8. Answers questions, gives presentations and discusses pharmaceutical issues with pharmacy staff and other healthcare professionals to meet all educational needs.
9. Participates in department activities as required by the department director.
   
10. Prepares departmental reports on the activities of the pharmacy department for the department director (e.g. Annual Pediatric Medication Use Review, Annual Creatinine Clearance Summary, etc.)
11. Attends educational conferences and/or pharmacy professional meetings as financially appropriate to maintain professional licensure and keep abreast of current trends, best practices and changes in the pharmacy and healthcare fields.
12. Ensure patients and visitors follow current infection control guidelines.
    
13. Participates in patient care activities that could include blood exposure and risk to bloodborne pathogens (eg: lacerations, handling of blood-contaminated specimens, etc.)
    
14. Responsible for safe bagging and disposal of biohazardous waste.
    
15. Responsible for following safe-injection practices.
    
16. Responsible for ensuring the environment meets appropriate governing body standards.
    
17. Maintains patient and staff safety through the use of patient safety tools (Teamstepps, Just Culture, etc.).
18. Regular attendance at the assigned work location is required.
    
19. Performs all other duties as assigned.

Minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities

1. Knowledge of the effective, appropriate and safe use of drugs in order to optimize drug use in all patients as is typically acquired through the completion of a Doctor of Pharmacy degree or Bachelor of Science degree from an accredited school or college of Pharmacy.
2. Must hold a current active Pharmacist license issued by the state of Nebraska. Minimum registry of Registered Pharmacist. Must also obtain and maintain licensure as a Registered Pharmacist with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
3. Previous experience in the specialized function of hospital/health center pharmacy services to ensure competency as an institutional staff pharmacist desirable. Knowledge of hospital policies, effective use of hospital computer system pertinent to pharmacy, work flow in the pharmacy, etc. as typically acquired through six months relevant work experience in a hospital pharmacy.
4. Knowledge of the specialized functions of hospital and health center pharmacy services, usually attained by completion of a hospital pharmacy residency and/or at least one year of hospital pharmacy experience.
5. Basic Life Support certification via American Heart Association required within six months of hire.
6. Attention to detail for up to 50% of work time when verifying provider orders and medications, mixing intravenous medications, dispensing medications, etc.
7. Analytical skills necessary to calculate proper doses for all age groups, recommend proper medications for various patient diagnoses, etc.
8. Communication skills necessary to be able to discuss appropriate medications for various patient diagnoses, teach patients about medications and answer all questions, teach small groups about various issues pertaining to Pharmacy, etc.
9. Ability to complete reports and correspondence at a professional level.
10. Ability to effectively communicate with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
11. Ability to maintain strict confidentiality with regard to protected and sensitive information.
12. Ability to immediately respond to common inquiries and complaints from patients, employees and regulatory agencies.
13. Successful completion of required knowledge and training of standard precaution and transmission protocols and when to apply during principle duties and responsibilities.

Working conditions

1. Works in a well lighted and ventilated work area with minimal exposure to excessive dust, temperature, etc.
   
2. Work environment includes frequent exposure to noise and occasionally to potentially hazardous and toxic substances up to approximately 30% of work time.
   
3. Required to spend up to approximately 30% of work time seated to complete paperwork/computer work; 70% of the time is spent providing patient care and other pharmacy related tasks. Shelves in the department are required to be stocked 3 times per week. Shelf heights range from 6 inches from the ground up to 81 inches high. A 12 inch step stool is located in the department to be used to reach the highest shelves. 20 pound boxes, up to 5% of work time, are required to be stocked from floor to waist level in department and negligible weights up to 1-2 pounds are placed onto higher shelves. A med cart is used to distribute medications to the hospital, requiring up to 38 pounds of horizontal force to push over thresholds into rooms and 25 pounds of horizontal force in the hallways. Med cart is used up to 200 feet in distance from pharmacy area for distribution. If required to transfer a patient for better positioning, 35 pounds is required to be lifted for transferring. Frequently walks distance of 500 feet to clinic location to transport small quantities of medications and check refrigerator/freezer temperatures.
4. Exposure to chemicals and other hazards related to patient care. Appropriate safety precautions, such as safety glasses, gloves, etc. must be used to minimize risk of injury.
   
5. Direct exposure to body substances during patient care activities and on contaminated surfaces such as patient equipment.

Management responsibilities

1. Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Students

The above is intended to describe the general content of the requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements. In no way does this job description, implied or otherwise.