Clinical Pharmacy

[UFGatorRx]

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I'm interested in clinical pharmacy but all the info that I've found so far is somewhat vague. Does anyone know more about clinical pharmacists and what they do exactly? I have a clue but no definite answer. Thanks!

 

[psychoandy]

Like sdn1977 will tell you, retail and institutional practice settings are both clinical...so the term is irrelevant. (i read this forum too much)

But since you probably mean institutional settings (read:hospital), pharmacists will (some more than others)...

-Enter orders, while checking dosage and indications, compare with labs when needed, calling MDs/RNs to clarify orders on occasion
-Go on morning rounds
-Monitor for drug interactions
-Med reconcilliation (basically seeing what meds the pt is taking when admitted)
-Answer questions regarding anything with medications from nursing, ranging from "if someone is allergic to keflex, can i give ancef?" to "how fast should i run this bag of k-phos?"
-Answer questions/make suggestions when talking to MDs
-Check meds going up to the floors
-Floor audits and other scutwork that no one wants to do but has to be done
-Do crossword puzzles/sudoku/tetris/solitare on their computers
-Work on special projects (formulary review, new policy/procedure, etc)
-Precept young, wet-behind-the-ears students, like myself

There's a lot more to it, but this is just what I mostly observe on a daily basis. ICU pharmacists are slightly different and have more work in the wards (as opposed to stuck in the basement doing order entry), but other than that, I'm not up there enough to comment on what they do.

 

[senzabee]

At the hospital pharmacy I work at, we have clinical pharmacists on floors other than just the ICU. We have an oncology specialist who looks over BMT (bone marrow transplant) patients, chemo orders, etc. Some others watch over pneumonia patients, look over certain patients and try to change their meds from IV to PO or make suggestions based on lab results. From my experience, the "clinical" pharmacists are more involved in individual patients and their med profiles than the pharmacists actually in the pharmacy, who do order entry and verify the stuff that goes up.

 

[sdn1977]

Like sdn1977 will tell you, retail and institutional practice settings are both clinical...so the term is irrelevant. (i read this forum too much)

But since you probably mean institutional settings (read:hospital), pharmacists will (some more than others)...

-Enter orders, while checking dosage and indications, compare with labs when needed, calling MDs/RNs to clarify orders on occasion
-Go on morning rounds
-Monitor for drug interactions
-Med reconcilliation (basically seeing what meds the pt is taking when admitted)
-Answer questions regarding anything with medications from nursing, ranging from "if someone is allergic to keflex, can i give ancef?" to "how fast should i run this bag of k-phos?"
-Answer questions/make suggestions when talking to MDs
-Check meds going up to the floors
-Floor audits and other scutwork that no one wants to do but has to be done
-Do crossword puzzles/sudoku/tetris/solitare on their computers
-Work on special projects (formulary review, new policy/procedure, etc)
-Precept young, wet-behind-the-ears students, like myself

There's a lot more to it, but this is just what I mostly observe on a daily basis. ICU pharmacists are slightly different and have more work in the wards (as opposed to stuck in the basement doing order entry), but other than that, I'm not up there enough to comment on what they do.

Andy....you & eddie make me so proud!!!!!

YES! Clinical pharmacy is a mindset & these folks have started you on the right path.

Have you had a chance to read the FAQ's & used the search function? Ask anyone - its fun (well...not....but try anyway).

You can also search some old threads.....look for posts by me, Kwizard, Zpak, Dgrouix & others.....it is so dependent on practice setting. There is a great post by....I can't remember her name, but she's an oncology pharmacist & gave a detailed account of her day. I've also detailed my day when I've worked OR,ICU, or retail - amazingly.....ALL clinical!!!

Good luck - ask anything.....but look for what we've written first.

 

[pharmboy30]

almost everything I do in the hospital pharmacy is "clinical". Order entry itself is "clinical" (even in retail) - appropriate use of drugs, appropriate dose/route/frequency/indication, appropriate dose of drugs in appropriate fluid for IVs, answering all kinds of questions, clarifying drugs/doses, making sure restricted formulary drugs are prescribed by the correct physicians, checking all medications going to floors, responsible for narcotics, dosing antibiotics for renal function, etc.

The word "clinical" seems to alienate staff and retail pharmacists, but I feel I do my fair share. Just because you are not on the floors doesn't mean you are not involved in clinical work.

In my hospital system, the "clinical" pharmacists seem to think they are better than everyone else (especially if they have done a residency) and that their work is so much more important that others. Most of what they do is try to create policies to make themselves seem important and valuable, and think they are better than the staff, but obviously this is only my experience. I have met MANY clinical pharmacists who are excellent at their job.

 

[wonderwoman569]

the statpharmacist.com is a blog written by a hospital pharmacist. its insightful.

 

[Glowwyrm]

the statpharmacist.com is a blog written by a hospital pharmacist. its insightful.

That link didn't work for me. I think this link should work though:
http://my.opera.com/thestatpharmacist/blog/

 

[wonderwoman569]

thanks for the correction.

 

[UFGatorRx]

Thanks for the responses and the link to statpharmacist, the blogs there look really interesting. And I'll go back and look for previous related posts.
I found out the correct term for what I was referring to is Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, or simply Clinical Specialist...my bad 😀