Clinical Pharmacist-Float, Full-time Rotating

About the Role

The Clinical Pharmacist reflects the mission, vision, and values of Northwestern Medicine, adhering to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program. This role is responsible for identifying, preventing, and resolving medication-related problems, providing authoritative information to healthcare professionals, patients, and the public, and ensuring the informational, clinical, and drug distribution components of pharmacy services function as an integrated system to deliver patient-centered care.

The mission of the Department of Pharmacy is to deliver the safest, highest quality, most effective and efficient patient care while developing the best people, advancing research, and integrating pharmacy services across the Northwestern Medicine enterprise. The vision is to be recognized as a national leader in advancing the pharmacy enterprise through excellence, innovation, education, and research.

Responsibilities

• Interprets medication orders to ensure safety and proper use, monitoring for compatibilities, incompatibilities, medication duplication, allergies, and potential administration errors.
• Coordinates the resolution of medication-related problems between pharmacy, nursing, and prescribers, demonstrating initiative and sound judgment.
• Monitors medication therapy for significant drug-drug, drug-diet, or drug-laboratory test interactions and intervenes as necessary.
• Evaluates and documents the appropriateness of selected medications for achieving desired therapeutic outcomes and communicates potential problems to prescribers.
• Acts as a consultant on pharmacokinetics and adverse reactions to physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
• Participates in therapeutic drug monitoring or intervention programs, adjusting therapy based on patient condition and laboratory results.
• Processes medication order information into the Electronic Health Record to ensure accuracy of records regarding dispensing and charging.
• Maintains a comprehensive pharmacy patient profile, including age, weight, allergies, diagnosis, and pertinent information affecting medication therapy decisions.
• Oversees the packaging, labeling, and distribution of medications for patients and employees according to established policies and guidelines.
• Monitors the use of scheduled medications on nursing units and maintains controlled inventories in dispensing areas.
• Compounds and dispenses pharmaceuticals, including sterile products, chemotherapy, and parenteral nutrition products.
• Verifies medication orders before delivery to patient care areas and resolves discrepancies as necessary.
• Reviews laboratory data for appropriateness of medication use and recommends changes when needed, including microbial culture and sensitivity data and therapeutic drug monitoring.
• Develops and presents orientation, education, and training programs for medical, nursing, hospital, and pharmacy staff, as well as educating pharmacy students, residents, and fellows.
• Educates patients and their families about specific medications.
• Responds to emergency situations to assist with medication management (e.g., cardiac arrests).
• Provides accurate and timely medication information and teaching to healthcare professionals or patients.
• Maintains the hospital formulary and limits medication usage to formulary items when appropriate.
• Documents all clinical activities and interventions, collecting data and maintaining logs as required by the department.
• Communicates professional knowledge effectively in both oral and written forms.
• Participates in quality improvement and medication use review activities of the department.
• Organizes, prioritizes, and plans workload within given time constraints.
• Works cooperatively with fellow pharmacists to oversee and direct work area activities, assign tasks to technicians, and ensure department objectives are met.
• Reviews restocking of automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) throughout the hospital and resolves any problems.
• Ensures compliance with hazardous waste collection and disposal procedures.
• Maintains proficiency and expertise in area(s) of practice through continuous professional development.
• Performs all other job duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Active Clinical Pharmacist license in the state of Illinois (IDFPR).
• Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy or a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree.

Qualifications

• Training and knowledge of specialty areas (e.g., neonatology, critical care, oncology) preferred.
• Completion of a pharmacy residency program or equivalent hospital pharmacy experience preferred.

Benefits

Northwestern Medicine offers a wide range of benefits that provide employees with tools and resources to improve their physical, emotional, and financial well-being while providing protection for unexpected life events. Benefits include tuition reimbursement, loan forgiveness, 401(k) matching, and lifecycle benefits. Learn more about benefits.