Acute Care 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 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. Primary patient population is adults and eldery on medicine inpatient wards.

This position is to function at higher decision making and accountability levels regarding medication therapy, proactively affecting medication use by making recommendations at the time prescribing decisions are being made or, in some cases, making independent decisions about medication therapy in cooperation 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, the teaching and precepting component of students, interns and/or residents.

This position functions in an integrated patient care model, in which the clinical pharmacist participates in patient rounding, transitions of care, order verification, pharmacy consults, and facilitation of medication distribution.

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 monitors and evaluates 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.

• OHSU may require training or experience in a specialized area at time of recruitment.

Preferred Qualifications

• BS in Pharmacy or Pharm.D. PLUS Practice Residency/Equivalent Experience or Specialist Certification (BCPS, BCOPS, etc) 
• PGY-2 Specialty Residency BLS/ACLS certification
• Vaccination certification 
• Teaching Certificate
• Inpatient hospital pharmacy practice: Ability to meet the pharmaceutical care needs of the following patient care types: Acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitiaion, skilled nursing, long-term care, obstetric, oncology, chemically dependent, HIV, home care, hospice.
• Outpatient pharmacy clerical rotation, Transitions of Care, Discharge Medication Education, Surgical or Internal Medicine Services, Pain Management, and Medication Reconciliation

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 work flow. 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.

Why apply to OHSU?

We are Oregon's only public academic health center. In addition to caring for patients, we lead groundbreaking research. We also train the next generation of health care professionals. As Portland's largest employer, we give you opportunities to learn and advance in a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and Southwest Washington. All are welcome. OHSU welcomes people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, national origins, religions and sexual orientations. We are striving to build an anti-racist, multicultural institution and encourage people with diverse backgrounds to apply. To request reasonable accommodation, contact [email protected]