The specialist will represent pharmacy in all aspects of care, focusing on reviewing policies, managing the formulary, and providing drug-related education across the organization. They will also evaluate and direct pharmacy services, assist in training staff, and engage in academic scholarship including authorship and presentations.
Requirements summary
A Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree is required, along with a minimum of two years of pharmacy experience, specifically one year in a pediatric, specialized, academic, or clinical setting, or six years if the candidate lacks a PGY2 residency. Eligibility for licensure in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, plus Board Certification depending on the specialty, are also mandatory.
The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist will serve within their area as the representative of pharmacy in all aspects of the care the
pharmacy department provides. They will be responsible for review of pharmacy and organizational policies and procedures as
they regard to drug use and departmental readiness for regulatory audits within and outside of their specialty area. They will
provide oversight of formulary management (including development of guidelines and protocols) and drug-related education,
work closely with other hospital departments to evaluate, direct, and modify pharmacy services, and assist in training of
clinical staff and learners including competency assessments. The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist will also assist with oversight of
the other pharmacy team members on their unit, when applicable. Academic scholarship will also be expected of this role
including but not limited to authorship, presentations, and attendance at national meetings. The clinical pharmacy specialists
will also be expected to help create and execute collaborative practice opportunities at Children's National.
Minimum Education Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Doctor of Pharmacy (Required)
Minimum Work Experience 2 years At least a year of pharmacy experience in a pediatric, specialized or academic or clinical setting. 6 years required for candidates without a PGY2 residency. (Required)
Required Licenses and Certifications Pharmacist Eligible for Licensure in the District of Columbia plus/minus Maryland and Virginia (specialty dependent) 90 Days (Required) Board Certified Pharmacist (BPS) (specialty dependent) 1 Year (Required)
Functional Accountabilities Order Processing and Accreditation Readiness Interpret medication orders, profile orders and oversee the packaging, labeling and distribution of medications.
Input orders into pharmacy computer system for area of practice when appropriate.
Staff in the pharmacy operation to maintain distribution skillset.
Assist in performing unit inspections and verifying accreditation readiness.
Reviews medication lists for therapeutic duplication, omissions, dosing errors, drug interactions, and allergies.
Reviews, interprets, and verifies new medication orders to ensure appropriate drug, dose, route, and frequency Assists nursing staff and other providers with automated dispensing machine questions.
Interventions/ Documentation Perform drug therapy monitoring and intervene as necessary on drug dosing, drug administration, drug interactions, side-effects and monitoring issues.
Complete therapeutic drug monitoring consults and adverse reaction reports.
Document interventions and drug information.
Document in patient chart when applicable and appropriate.
Collaborates with multidisciplinary team to ensure appropriate medication access, including recommending alternative therapies as appropriate.
Actively participates in the medication reconciliation process to ensure a complete and accurate home medication list.
Works collaboratively with providers to implement and communicate comprehensive medication evaluation and management for patients including between care settings.
Staff Development and Training Assist with the education, training, and general supervision of pharmacy students and residents.
Assist with the training of new pharmacists.
Provide lectures and drug reviews to various professional groups and committees.
Develop system changes, educational programs and interventions that result in the reduction of errors in practice; including prescribing errors, dispensing errors, and administration errors.
Clinical Services Take necessary steps to assure appropriate medication use throughout the organization.
Identify drugs/therapies that should be considered for further evaluation and formulary addition.
Provide accurate and timely drug information to physicians, nurses, and other health professionals.
Maintain an active, current clinical practice based on evidence-based medicine.
Serve as a clinical specialist resource for pharmacists, nurses and physicians; address and follow up on all issues related to systems and patient care.
Assist the department in the management of drug shortages.
Represent the Department on key committees.
Assist pharmacy operations and informatics teams in implementation of new and updating of existing formulary items.
Become credentialed and help to design, implement, and execute collaborative practice agreements.
Quality Improvement Lead cost-savings initiatives within the department.
Lead and participate in quality improvement initiatives both within the department and externally.
Contribute to the development of order sets by helping devise, implement, and test electronic order set builds.
Assist with the growth of clinical pharmacy programs throughout the organization.
Actively participates in the development and implementation of performance/quality improvement and patient safety activities for service area, Pharmacy Services and the Enterprise (e.g. responds to RLs, participated in RCAs/ACAs).
Identifies high-cost, high-use agents within defined area of practice and participates in cost management initiatives (revenue generating, cost containment, etc.).
Professional Development Participate and/or lead research initiatives with medical unit and/or resident projects.
Attend, present, and/or moderate at subject area conferences.
Actively engage in preceptor development by attendings seminars, teaching in the Children’s preceptor development series, and/or completing preceptor development CEs.
Contribute to the primary literature by publication and/or poster presentations.
Organizational Accountabilities Organizational Accountabilities (Staff) Organizational Commitment/Identification Anticipate and responds to customer needs; follows up until needs are met
Teamwork/Communication Demonstrate collaborative and respectful behavior Partner with all team members to achieve goals Receptive to others’ ideas and opinions
Performance Improvement/Problem-solving Contribute to a positive work environment Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to change Identify opportunities to improve clinical and administrative processes Make appropriate decisions, using sound judgment
Cost Management/Financial Responsibility Use resources efficiently Search for less costly ways of doing things
Safety Speak up when team members appear to exhibit unsafe behavior or performance Continuously validate and verify information needed for decision making or documentation Stop in the face of uncertainty and takes time to resolve the situation Demonstrate accurate, clear and timely verbal and written communication Actively promote safety for patients, families, visitors and co-workers Attend carefully to important details - practicing Stop, Think, Act and Review in order to self-check behavior and performance
