Clinical Pharmacist Specialist

UPMC Jameson is seeking a highly motivated Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist to lead its Antimicrobial Stewardship Program. 

• UPMC Jameson is a 146-licensed bed acute care hospital located in New Castle, Pennsylvania, serving as a hub for Lawrence and Mercer counties.  Together with UPMC Horizon, UPMC Jameson provides a regionalized approach to healthcare and is a part of the UPMC Health system, a 37-hospital network. This position provides an opportunity to collaborate across multiple sites, including UPMC Jameson and UPMC Horizon Shenango Valley and UPMC Greenville.

The ID Pharmacist will be responsible for daily stewardship activities and local oversight of the stewardship program at UPMC Jameson and Horizon, with as needed clinical support provided to the UPMC Northwest stewardship pharmacist. The pharmacist will collaborate with and receive support from UPMC Health System’s Antimicrobial Stewardship leadership and stewardship pharmacist network to leverage system resources and facilitate stewardship best practices locally. Other activities include: 

• Perform daily stewardship via prospective audit with intervention and feedback to prescribers
• Work collaboratively with local hospital and pharmacy leadership, Infectious Diseases, Infection Prevention, Patient Safety, Clinical Microbiology, and other relevant local leaders to improve antimicrobial stewardship practice and patient outcomes 
• Participate in UPMC’s systemwide Antimicrobial Stewardship pharmacist operations meetings and system stewardship collaborative meetings
• Serve as the pharmacist delegate to the system Antimicrobial P&T Subcommittee
• Provide education to providers, nurses, pharmacists, and other members of the local health care teams 
• Participate in the educational experience of pharmacy students during their Advanced Practice Pharmacy Experience rotations      

Schedule: Primarily day shifts. Occasional weekend and holiday coverage could be required as needed.

Ideal candidate must possess good written and verbal communication skills and demonstrate leadership in their current position.  PGY2 training in Infectious Diseases or equivalent experience preferred.

Purpose:
Clinical Pharmacist Specialists are responsible and accountable for the provision of safe, effective, and efficient comprehensive medication management for specialized patient populations. They provide support of centralized and decentralized medication-use systems as well as deliver optimal medication therapy in a specialized area of pharmacy practice. Clinical Pharmacist Specialists provide direct patient-centered care and integrated pharmacy services in a clinical practice setting with physicians, nurses, and other members of the care team. These clinicians are aligned with interdisciplinary programs and services to ensure clinical pharmacy is appropriately integrated in the care process. Clinical Pharmacist Specialists participate in all necessary aspects of the medication-use system while providing comprehensive and individualized clinical pharmacy services to the patients in their specialized areas. Specialized clinical pharmacy services include but are not limited to assessing patient needs, incorporating age and disease specific characteristics into drug therapy and patient education, adjusting care according to patient response, and providing clinical interventions to detect, mitigate, and prevent medication adverse events. Clinical Pharmacist Specialists serve as departmental resources and liaisons to other departments, health care team members, or external groups. They also conduct clinical research and practice advancement projects in their area of expertise as well as support and/or lead patient care quality and regulatory compliance initiatives designed to improve medication-use processes or pharmacy practice. Clinical Pharmacist Specialists provide medication and practice-related education/training and actively serve as preceptors for pharmacy students and pharmacy residents including PGY2 residents. If applicable, participation in the quality initiatives is expected with the goal of improving clinical pharmacy services by monitoring processes, analyzing data, implementing interventions, and evaluating the effectiveness of those interventions. 

Responsibilities:

• 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 assure drug utilization activities are aligned with patient care needs, evidence-based best practices, and regulatory standards.
• 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  
• Develops and oversees policies and procedures for drug purchasing, drug usage, drug distribution, and drug control.
• Assures 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.
• Works as an active member of multidisciplinary team and collaborates with healthcare providers within decentralized patient care areas to provide patient-centered care o Identifies high-risk patients and implements interventions to improve quality and safety.
• Makes appropriate evidence-based, patient-centered medication recommendations.
• Participates in the management of medical emergencies.  
• Provides discharge medication review, reconciliation, and counseling as appropriate.
• 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.
• 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.
• Actively participates in stewardship activities and restricted medication programs. 
• Participates in pharmacy operations and medication dispensing. 
• Maintains proficiency in and actively engages in operational programs, central dispensing pharmacies, satellite dispensing pharmacies, and specialty pharmacy areas 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.
• Oversees pharmacy operations and technician practice/activities.
• Facilitates experiential education and practice advancement. 
• Maintains proficiency in preceptor roles and actively emulates education/mentorship skills. 
• 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