Clinical Pharmacist - Infectious Diseases

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About Duke University Hospital

Pursue your passion for caring with Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which is consistently ranked among the best in the United States. The largest of Duke Health's four hospitals with 1062 patient beds, it features comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, including a regional emergency/trauma center, an endo-surgery center, and more.

CLINICAL PHARMACIST – INFECTIOUS DISEASES OUTPATIENT CLINIC/INPATIENT ANTIMICROBIAL STEWARDSHIP

Applicable Position Description: Clinical Pharmacist – Infectious Diseases (ID) Outpatient Clinic and Inpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship

Working Schedule:

• Weekdays
• Day shift

Position Summary:   The Duke University Hospital (DUH) Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) program improves patient safety by facilitating earlier discharge of patients on intravenous (IV) anti-infectives, providing close laboratory monitoring and documentation, and improving communication at transitions of care.  The main role of this position is to support operations of the OPAT clinic, joining one clinical pharmacist practicing in this role.  The position will also support transitions of care workflow from inpatient to the outpatient setting for OPAT patients with a focus on reducing readmissions. The position will have dedicated time to support the Antimicrobial Stewardship and Evaluation Team (ASET) inpatient stewardship program on a weekly basis.  ASET is dedicated to enhancing the quality of antimicrobial use throughout Duke University Hospital (DUH).  This position will provide support alongside two ambulatory infectious diseases/HIV pharmacists, three antimicrobial stewardship pharmacists, and working collaboratively with the Department of Pharmacy, medical staff, and other healthcare workers under the direction of the Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Services Coordinator to support both inpatient to outpatient infectious diseases pharmacy programs.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Clinical Practice and Medication Management:  Infectious Diseases Outpatient Clinic

• Provides clinical pharmacy support for the Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) Program.
• Participates in clinic and provides clinical pharmacy services and oversight for safe use of medication for patients receiving home antimicrobial infusion therapies, such as:
  • Completes medication reconciliation activities
  • Provides medication counseling/education
  • Interprets pharmacokinetic/therapeutic drug monitoring data and makes dose change recommendations as deemed appropriate
  • Screens for drug interactions, therapeutic duplications, omissions, etc.
  • Monitors patients for therapeutic and/or toxic response to medication
  • Coordinates patient care with inpatient, home infusion, home health, and skilled nursing care teams
  • Ensures continuity of care with antimicrobial therapy
• Development and continued maintenance of inpatient to outpatient OPAT transitions with goal of reducing readmissions for this population
• Provides support to improve safety and to reduce risk to patients treated in the ID programs. Reports events and/or concerns via the safety reporting system.
• Provides oversight of cost-effective use of medications and treatments. This includes risk reduction and correct utilization of resources to optimize care.
• Provides support to assure compliance with The Joint Commission accreditation standards.
• Coordinates with Duke Retail Pharmacies and Patient Assistance Program teams to provide seamless medication access to patients. Optional participation in Specialty Pharmacy on-call coverage.
• Facilitates prescription fulfillment through Duke Retail pharmacies.
• Serves as a resource for Duke Retail Pharmacy staff on ID-related medication issues.
• Proactively assesses and ensures medication adherence and makes appropriate documentation on the inquiry
• Provides oversight of ID staff education for critical elements of medication use in patient care and clinical research.
• Educates medical, nursing, and pharmacy staff about the management, prescribing, and monitoring of ID therapies.
• Supports HIV and ambulatory ID as needed for cross coverage.

Clinical Practice and Medication Management:  Inpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship

• Perform prospective and retrospective antimicrobial review, feedback, and (when indicated) intervention throughout DUH (adults and pediatrics)
• Collaborate with other members of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Evaluation Team (ASET) interdisciplinary team to establish models and procedures to audit and provide prescriber feedback in order to optimize antimicrobial prescribing practices
• Represent ASET to front-line prescribers and administrative leaders at DUH
• Work to ensure optimal compliance with anti-infective related clinical pathways and guidelines
• Participate in the review of requests for restricted antibiotic use

Duke University Hospital Department of Pharmacy

• Maintains familiarity with all departmental programs and works as an integral part of the pharmacy team.
• Models behaviors that exemplify Duke's core values, including teamwork, integrity, diversity, excellence and safety.
• Takes responsibility for personal and professional growth.
• Ability to pursue Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP) designation.
• Participates in the education of pharmacy students and residents.
• Participate in the conduct of didactic and experiential training of present and future pharmacists and physicians in principles of antimicrobial stewardship
• Presents scholarly materials at educational conferences for the ID program and pharmacy professional meetings and organizations (Duke, State/Local, National)
• Understands and actively participates in the achievement of division and departmental financial goals
• Develops and participates in pharmacy-related research projects and quality improvement initiatives
• Provides leadership in developing guidelines, order forms, and critical pathways to improve the care and safety of patients.

Minimum Qualifications

Education

• Doctor of Pharmacy Degree OR BS Pharmacy Degree
   

Experience

• With a BS Pharmacy degree, two years of pharmacy practice experience, or acceptable board certification, or completion of an accredited residency program and demonstrated ability to achieve positive patient outcomes in a similar environment is required.
• With Doctor of Pharmacy degree, no experience is required.
• PGY1 Pharmacy Residency and PGY2 Pharmacy Residency in Infectious Diseases preferred.
• 3+ years of clinical practice experience or experience in managing infectious disease patient populations preferred.
   

Degrees, Licensures, Certifications

• Licensed Pharmacist or eligible to practice pharmacy in North Carolina