Infect Disease Pharmacist

SUMMARY:  Provide acute, intensive pharmaceutical care services in collaboration with other health professionals. Promote high quality, evidence-based, cost-effective infectious disease pharmaceutical care, managing patient drug therapy, provide patient education and perform duties in other clinical areas as required and assigned.

Additional responsibilities include pharmacy consults/clinical interventions, interdisciplinary collaboration, integrated support, departmental leadership, and professional mentorship. Participates in multidisciplinary hospital committees and takes leadership role in departmental clinical education and research activities. External presentation, publication, and professional speaking is strongly encouraged and supported. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Responsibilities:

1. Implementing focused clinical pharmacy activities to establish and foster PMHD Antimicrobial Stewardship, serving as a resource and leader to physicians and other caregivers
2. As a core member of the hospital antimicrobial stewardship program, the infectious disease clinical pharmacist (ID pharmacist) is responsible for:
   1. Evaluating and monitoring antimicrobial therapy in patients receiving treatment for infectious diseases; including appropriate empiric therapy based on indication, optimal dosing and duration, and optimal antimicrobial therapy based on C&S results
   2. Providing consultative pharmaceutical services and recommendations to medical, nursing, and pharmaceutical staff in regards to antimicrobial therapy
   3. Developing, coordinating, implementing, and evaluating interventional strategies designed to improve and monitor the appropriate utilization of antimicrobials; including antibiotic guidelines, treatment guidelines, clinical pathways, antimicrobial restriction criteria, novel laboratory methods, policy development, formulary management, and antimicrobial monitoring/utilization programs
   4. Identifying and reporting metrics designed to measure the effectiveness of the hospital antimicrobial stewardship program
   5. Providing ongoing education to pharmacists, physicians, and to other relevant hospital staff in regards to antimicrobial therapy

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:

In addition, the ID pharmacist will be responsible for staff pharmacist’s duties including:

1. Supervising and providing clinical pharmacy activities, including but not limited to pharmacokinetics, parenteral nutrition and general pharmaceutical care for our patient care areas as needed
2. Identifying, resolving, and preventing potential and actual medication-related problems including: untreated indications, improper drug selection, sub-therapeutic dosage, overdose, failure to receive medication, adverse drug reactions, drug interactions, and medication without indication
3. Initiating, adjusting, monitoring, and recommending changes in drug therapy based on information obtained through collaborative practice, patient interviews, objective monitoring parameters, reviewing of drug profiles and the patient medical record
4. Coordinating and interpreting laboratory monitoring of drug therapy, including serum drug levels, electrolytes, and other drug-related laboratory testing
5. Providing patient monitoring for the purpose of evaluating and optimizing patient outcomes, drug utilization and patient compliance, detecting and/or minimizing ADRs, eliminating unnecessary drug use and duplication
6. Implementing focused clinical pharmacy activities to decrease overall patient healthcare costs by effective pharmacotherapy, which results in decreased length of stay and hospital readmission rates and overall better patient clinical outcomes
7. Assisting in clinical pharmacy training and educational programs
8. Providing input to Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee to support efficacious and cost effective drug therapy
9. Maintaining interface with medical staff to provide information pertaining to new pharmaceutical supplies, formulary, drug usage and compatibility and new regulations regarding clinical drug use
10. Assisting in the supervision of the preparation, labeling and dispensing of drugs and other pharmaceutical supplies; ensure compliance with Federal, State and local laws and regulations pertaining to the dispensing of drugs and narcotics and maintenance of all required records
11. Assisting in the pharmacy's quality improvement process
12. Performing other related duties incidental to the work described herein

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Serve as the pharmacist-in-charge in the absence of the Director of Pharmacy.

While on duty, direct responsibility for the conduct of pharmacy technician(s) supervised by that pharmacist.

Supervising all activities that take place in the pharmacy.

Leadership role in training and education of Pharmacist’s and Clinical personnel related to Infectious Disease

EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, AND EXPERIENCE:

Successful completion of an ASHP residency in infectious disease, OR BPS Certification, OR equivalent clinical experience in direct patient acute pharmaceutical care, required. Advanced residency, fellowship, or board certification, preferred. Total hospital pharmacy experience of four years or more is desirable. 

1. Knowledge required: Comprehensive knowledge of current pharmacological/ biopharmaceutical principles, medical terminology, pathologies, disease state management, age appropriate therapy, and other information as it pertains to medical or pharmaceutical care management plan.
2. Demonstrated ability to work with others on the patient care team.
3. Ability to work independently and handle stress appropriately.
4. Ability to handle frequent interruptions and adapt to changes in workload and work schedule.
5. Effective verbal/written communication skills at appropriate level.
6. Learn & operate pharmacy computer system(s), other equipment and software. 
7. Demonstrated analytical and problem solving skills.
8. Consistently demonstrates the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors necessary to provide superior and culturally sensitive service to each other, to our members, and to customers, contracted providers, and vendors.
9. Ability to set priorities, to make critical decisions, and respond quickly to emergency requests.

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS:

1. .Graduate of an ACPE-accredited School of Pharmacy. B.S. Pharmacy degree minimum, Pharm.D. preferred.
2. .Pharmacist License in the State of California required.
3. .Healthcare Provider Basic Life Support required.

AGE OF POPULATION SERVED:

Newborn  Infant/Pediatric  Adolescent  Adult  Geriatric  All  xNo Patient Care 

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Position requires that the employee would be required to sit at a computer station approximately 50% of the time; stand and walk around 50% of the time. The physical activities of this position involve: grasping, lifting, reaching, stooping, and repetitive movement. 

An individual in this position will be required to carry or lift objects weighing up to 10 pounds. The sensory and communicative activities include essential activities to the performance of this position are: feeling, seeing, hearing, smelling, speaking, and the ability to distinguish colors.