Clinical Pharmacy Specialist I - Ambulatory Care

Summary

The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist I is responsible for establishing, coordinating, and maintaining pharmacotherapy services for patients within their respective specialty areas. This position requires a high level of autonomy and a strong commitment to excellence in pharmacy practice.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities described below represent the general tasks performed daily. Other duties may be assigned as needed to drive the vision, fulfill the mission, and uphold the values of the organization.

• Establish, coordinate, and maintain pharmacotherapy services for patients of the designated specialty or as assigned

• Prospectively evaluate pharmacotherapeutic regimens for appropriate indications, dosage, drug interactions, and drug allergies

• Monitor pharmacotherapeutic regimens for safety and efficacy and make interventions as appropriate, including the use of pharmacokinetic principles when warranted

• Participate in or serve in a leadership position on hospital committees as relevant to the area of practice or as assigned

• Provide routine education to physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacy staff, and other stakeholders as needed, including grand rounds, in-services, continuing education, and journal club

• Collaborate with other departments to support the provision of quality patient care and the organization’s mission

• Develop, implement, and maintain policies, protocols, procedures, and guidelines for medication use

• Actively engage in pharmacy resident and pharmacy student precepting opportunities as available and assigned

• Develop evidence-based strategies to decrease adverse drug events

• Serve as a primary resource for drug information within the hospital

• Maintain current knowledge of drug use, including primary literature

• Evaluate pharmacist services through data collection, analysis, and reporting

• Demonstrate competency in pharmacy automation, medication distribution, and technology as applicable to the work area

• Verify accuracy and safety of medication orders in various formats

• Provide support for critical pharmacy operations throughput needs

• Contribute to departmental cost reduction and/or revenue-generation efforts

• Lead and participate in quality improvement and/or research projects, including but not limited to medication use evaluations (minimum of two projects annually with clinical pharmacy manager approval)

• Engage in routine formulary review and management for the specialty area and as assigned

• Attend required hospital-wide orientations, meetings, and in-services

• Demonstrate a commitment to flexible work scheduling when necessary to ensure patient care

Education and Experience 
Minimum Required Education: Graduate from an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) 
Accredited College of Pharmacy 

Preferred Education: Doctor of Pharmacy or other advanced degree, completion of American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)-accredited Postgraduate Year 1 (PGY1) Pharmacy Residency and Postgraduate Year 2 (PGY2) Pharmacy Residency specializing in area of practice. 

Minimum Required Experience: 
One of the following, conditional upon education level:

None after completion of ASHP-accredited PGY2 Pharmacy Residency in the specialty practice area 
at least 1 year of pharmacy practice experience in the specialty practice area after completion of ASHP-accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Residency 
at least 3 years of pharmacy practice experience in the specialty practice area in the absence of ASHP-accredited PGY2 Pharmacy Residency completion in the specialty practice area and ASHP-accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Residency completion 
 
Preferred Experience: 
Clinical pharmacy experience (2:2 years) in a hospital/clinic setting as applicable to specialty practice type 
Certificates, Licenses, Registrations 

Minimum Required:

Applicant must be licensed as a Pharmacist in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support certifications are required. 
Board Certification by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties in an area directly applicable to the assigned specialty practice is required within 2 years of hire. 
Preferred: Relevant specialty-related certificates are encouraged.