Pharmacy Clinical Specialist-Internal Medicine

Boston Medical Center (BMC) is more than a hospital. It´s a network of support and care that touches the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in need each year. It is the largest and busiest provider of trauma and emergency services in New England. Emphasizing community-based care, BMC is committed to providing consistently excellent and accessible health services to all—and is the largest safety-net hospital in New England. The hospital is also the primary teaching affiliate of the nationally ranked Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and a founding partner of Boston HealthNet – an integrated health care delivery systems that includes many community health centers. Join BMC today and help us achieve our Vision 2030 which is a long-term goal to make Boston the healthiest urban population in the world.

Position: Pharmacy Clinical Specialist-Internal Medicine

Department: Inpatient Pharmacy

Schedule: Full Time, Exempt

This is an exciting opportunity for an Internal Medicine trained pharmacist to join a team of highly specialized pharmacists at Boston Medical Center (BMC). BMC is a large, urban, academic medical center that cares for an under served patient population. Our vision is to make Boston the “healthiest urban population in the world by 2030”. Our mission, which is foundational to our organization, is to provide “exceptional care without exception”. Pharmacy services at Boston Medical Center are indispensable. They are highly integrated into the front-lines of patient care and into the broader leadership structure of the organization. Boston Medical Center has been training pharmacy residents for over 30 years since 1986. We have eight PGY1 residents and six PGY2 programs in Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Oncology, Internal Medicine, and Ambulatory Care. We also provide support to over 170 student rotations each year. Residency and student training will be an important component of this position, including being a primary preceptor in the PGY1 and PGY2 IM residency program. The Internal Medicine Pharmacist will actively participate in multidisciplinary team rounds ensuring optimal pharmacotherapy management as well as serve as the pharmacy expert in a robust Transition of Care Program. The Internal Medicine Specialist will be expected to take an active role beyond direct patient care including involvement in quality improvement projects and patient safety. This position has rotating shifts and includes weekends and holidays.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES / DUTIES:

Distributive and operational responsibilities

• Ensures all medications are handled in the manner established by the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, applicable accreditation standards, state and federal regulations, and the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy.
• Reviews and verifies medication orders, reviews patient charts, evaluates applicable laboratory data to identify or prevent drug-related problems or toxicity. For each medication, the pharmacist evaluates the order for appropriateness including but not limited to dose, route and frequency for clinical indication and organ function, screening for drug interactions, therapeutic duplication, allergy history, and recommending use of formulary drugs or alternative cost-effective therapy when possible.
• Works closely with the central pharmacist and technicians to ensure accurate and timely acquisition, distribution and control of all medications, including investigational drugs.  Collaborates with the Pharmacy Purchasing team on special medication needs.
• Adheres to all protocols and policies related to controlled substances

Direct patient care

• Rotates through different clinical shifts with a specific core practice area
• Makes recommendations to optimize pharmacotherapy within the context of a multidisciplinary team
• Provides effective transition of care needs including, but not limited to, medication reconciliation, discharge counseling and facilitating medication to bedside
• Prevents patient harm by promoting the safe use of medications
• Identifies and reports medication-related events
• Performs daily targeted interventions to decrease risk of readmission, optimize therapy, and improve medication safety
• Serves as a pharmacy liaison to the BMC staff by ensuring the connectivity between clinical and distributive services.
• Documents all patient care activities

Education and training

• Serves as a preceptor for residents and students
• Assists in the orientation and training of new pharmacists, residents, interns and technicians as assigned.
• Provides timely and accurate drug information, training, and education to patients and health care providers
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