Concerns about pharmacist competence

SDN Members don't see this ad. (About Ads)

I made this name because people might know where I work and I want to ask your opinions about the situation we are having.

normally we do not hire new grads but we hired this one
many of the pharmacist bring up issues about her competence. she doesnt know very basic stuff like vanco dosing, drug interactions, how to interpret some labs, things like that. she wanted to give iron and tetracycline at the same time, cipro and calcium, and then dosed a vanco way too high (3g Q12) on someone with slightly imparied renal function. those are just some of the examples. there has been a lot of toher things. anyway many of the pharmacist have gone to the supervisor about this and he hasnt really been that receptive. we have other drama in our department and this supervisor is one of those guys that is on a power trip and doesnt listen to anyone. the pharm director is largely absent because of all the meetings she has to go to for the business/policy side of things.

this chick is going to kill someone someday. has anyone dealt with this before where they work? some of us want to find a way to deal with it without having to go to the supervisor. we have a compliance line but its not really for that srot of thing. we dont know what to do! help?!

I would recommend you keep quiet.

Originally Posted by willrocks

I would recommend you keep quiet.

Just keep quiet? That is always good advice

If the supervisor is not receptive, then go to the director. I will preface this with the fact that I am just entering the field but this is a rule of thumb I have used for the last 20 years of my life. You keep working your way up the chain until someone takes responsibility. Sure, I have made a ton of people mad going over their heads, but I have also made a ton of friends at the top that respect me for having the cajones to speak up when no one else will.

ADD: Also, there are ethical reasons that need to be figured into. If someone is endangering a patients life, it is the ethical responsibility of anyone knowing this to report it.

Yeah you can go to your director, or also you can make an anonymous tip to the state board of pharmacy and they will investigate. I agree with the above as well, if you know and a patient dies, the blood is on your hands too.

Originally Posted by VancoTrough

I made this name because people might know where I work and I want to ask your opinions about the situation we are having.

normally we do not hire new grads but we hired this one who is from another country. she was a doctor there and then went to pharmacy school here at a 3 yr program.

many of the pharmacist bring up issues about her competence. she doesnt know very basic stuff like vanco dosing, drug interactions, how to interpret some labs, things like that. she wanted to give iron and tetracycline at the same time, cipro and calcium, and then dosed a vanco way too high (3g Q12) on someone with slightly imparied renal function. those are just some of the examples. there has been a lot of toher things. anyway many of the pharmacist have gone to the supervisor about this and he hasnt really been that receptive. we have other drama in our department and this supervisor is one of those guys that is on a power trip and doesnt listen to anyone. the pharm director is largely absent because of all the meetings she has to go to for the business/policy side of things.

this chick is going to kill someone someday. has anyone dealt with this before where they work? some of us want to find a way to deal with it without having to go to the supervisor. we have a compliance line but its not really for that srot of thing. we dont know what to do! help?!

Perhaps a hospital position is not the best match for her at this time. She is going to need to put in a lot of effort to learn american drugs and drug therapies. I hope she is asking for her peers for help on a regular basis. If she herself doesn't know that she needs to learn those things quickly then I think you should call the compliance line to at least let them know about the situation especially when your patient's lives are in danger. You can let them decide what to do then

Write down your concerns and give them to the director. Even if he's always busy, he better make time to deal with this, because this lady is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Does your hospital have a system where mistakes get written up? Who's responsible for keeping tabs on those reports for your pharmacy? That person needs to talk to this pharmacist and let her know what she's doing wrong. One, she'll never improve if she doesn't get told what she needs to work on, and two, if they're going to fire her (and it sounds like they should) they need a looooooonnnng paper trail to prove the firing was justified.