Antimicrobial Stewardship/Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

POSITION SUMMARY:

This is an exciting opportunity for a PGY2 Infectious Diseases trained pharmacist to join a highly motivated team at Boston Medical Center (BMC). BMC is a 514 bed academic medical center that provides exceptional care without exception to an underserved patient population. At BMC, pharmacy services are indispensable and pharmacists are integrated into every aspect of patient care, including the organizational leadership structure. The Antimicrobial Stewardship/Infectious Diseases Clinical Specialist position will serve as an organizational ID expert and an active member of the multidisciplinary team. They will be an invaluable member of the ASP, ID consult service, and will collaborate with inpatient and ambulatory care pharmacists to support ID/HIV transition-of-care needs for patients. They will serve as an active member of the ASP committee and are responsible for the approval of restricted antimicrobials and managing the daily processes for prospective audit and feedback for broad-spectrum antimicrobials. Additionally, there will be numerous opportunities for precepting APPE students and pharmacy residents, including being a primary preceptor in the PGY2 ID residency program. Finally, there will be opportunities for professional growth and advancement as the Pharmacy Department seeks to further advance practice by striving to be leaders in quality improvement and patient safety.

Specific responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Active participation in the ASP committee
• Participate in the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee activities as related to the ASP committee
• Assist to maintain existing protocols, guidelines, and policies
• Oversee antimicrobial stewardship quality improvement projects and initiatives
• Collect and analyze antimicrobial utilization and other program outcome data on the ASP Dashboard
• Mentor and educate clinical staff regarding optimal infectious diseases care and antimicrobial stewardship
• Participate in departmental and interdisciplinary committees related to antimicrobial usage
• Design and provide education for prescribers, nurses, pharmacists, and other practitioners on antimicrobial use issues

Position: Antimicrobial Stewardship/Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacy Specialist        

Department: Inpatient Pharmacy

Schedule: Full Time

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES / DUTIES:

Distributive and operational responsibilities

• Ensures all medications are handled in the manner established by the Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee, applicable accreditation standards, state and federal regulations, and the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy.
• Reviews and verifies medication orders, reviews patient charts, evaluates applicable laboratory data to identify or prevent drug-related problems or toxicity. For each medication, the pharmacist evaluates the order for appropriateness including but not limited to dose, route and frequency for clinical indication and organ function, screening for drug interactions, therapeutic duplication, allergy history, and recommending use of formulary drugs or alternative cost-effective therapy when possible.
• Works closely with the central pharmacist and technicians to ensure accurate and timely acquisition, distribution and control of all medications, including investigational drugs.  Collaborates with the Pharmacy Purchasing team on special medication needs.
• Adheres to all protocols and policies related to controlled substances.
• Supervises the activities of supportive personnel including student interns and technicians.
• Uses designated pharmacy automation and/or barcoding systems to document checking of any medication or sterile product prior to dispensing.  

Direct patient care

• Rotates through different clinical shifts with a specific core practice area
• Makes recommendations to optimize pharmacotherapy within the context of a multidisciplinary team
• Provides effective transition of care needs including, but not limited to, medication reconciliation, discharge counseling, and facilitating "medications in hand program"
• Prevents patient harm by promoting the safe use of medications
• Identifies and reports medication-related events
• Performs daily targeted interventions to decrease risk of readmission, optimize therapy, and improve medication safety
• Serves as a pharmacy liaison to the BMC staff by ensuring the connectivity between clinical and distributive services.
• Documents all patient care activities

Education and training

• Serves as a preceptor for residents and students
• Assists in the orientation and training of new pharmacists, residents, interns and technicians as assigned.
• Provides timely and accurate drug information, training, and education to patients and health care providers
• Collaborates on resident projects

Formulary management

• Participates in formulary management activities (e.g. monograph preparation, medication use evaluations, etc.)
• Enacts drug shortage action plans
• Follows departmental policies and procedures to promote cost-effective medication use

Quality improvement

• Identifies opportunities for improvement in patient care or the medication use process
• Takes an active role in the development and implementation of quality improvement projects

Other duties

• May serve on hospital multidisciplinary committees as assigned
• Maintains own professional and specialized competency through continuing education as set forth by the Department of Pharmacy and the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy
• Conforms to Boston Medical Center’s standards of conduct so that the best possible customer service and patient care experience is provided:

• Conducts interpersonal relationships with patients, visitors, physicians and fellow employees in a courteous and customer friendly manner.

• Takes corrective action to improve performance on problem areas.
• Maintains all designated hospital information confidential at all times.
• Follows established hospital infection control and safety procedures.
• Utilizes hospital’s behavioral standards as the basis for decision making and to support the hospital’s mission and goals.
• Responsible for the creation and maintenance of a healthy work environment. A healthy work environment is one where people feel supported, held accountable, where standards are applied and expectations are clear. A healthy work environment is one where leadership supports and leads, models behavioral standards and sets the example for how to do all things right. Critical responsibilities related to this:

• Being engaged in the department, including managing up, owning team decisions, and communicating and supporting departmental and or organizational initiatives.
• Hold self and others to the highest ethical standards, and act with honor above all.
• Performs other duties as needed.

(The above statements in this job description are intended to depict the general nature and level of work assigned to the employee(s) in this job.  The above is not intended to represent an exhaustive list of accountable duties and responsibilities required).

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

• Requires a Doctorate of Pharmacy or Bachelors of Science in Pharmacy with an advanced degree, and a PGY1 pharmacy residency or at least three years of equivalent work experience
• Work requires a valid license to practice pharmacy in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
• PGY2 infectious diseases training is preferred

JOB BENEFITS:

• Competitive pay
• Highly subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance options
• 403(b) retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement and generous employee discounts
• Supportive work environment with a focus on training, professional development, and growth

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT:

Our department’s vision is to “become the national leader of integrated delivery network (IDN)-based pharmacies, committed to the highest quality patient care, community engagement, and innovation”. We are highly integrated into the front lines of patient care and into the broader leadership structure of the organization. We have been training pharmacy residents for over 30 years and has seven PGY1 residents and six PGY2 programs in Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Oncology, Internal Medicine, and Ambulatory Care. We also provide support to over 150 student rotations each year from Northeastern University School of Pharmacy, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science, and other nearby schools and colleges of pharmacy.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans