Day in the Life of a ID Pharmacist

[Trumpet]

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Any ID (infectious disease) pharmacist want to share their experience as a ID pharmacist? I am very interested in going into ID. Can you share topics such as weekly schedule, daily routine? Thank you.

 

[gwarm01]

I spent some time with an ID pharmacist once. It was mainly following cultures, clinical response to therapy, consulting with ID physicians, and following kinetics. It seemed like it would be fun if you were into ID, but I don't know how many specialized pharmacists positions really exist for that field. Seems like unicorn territory.

 

[KARM12]

Sounds boring. These jobs rarely exist.

 

[OmiPharmD]

We have a full time ID pharmacist. She works M-F day shift. She is in charge of antimicrobial stewardship which is a meeting every morning with a doctor from ID reviewing patients and getting antibiotics narrowed/stopped/changed. She also attends all of the ID meetings, infection control, SCIP, P&T meetings, etc. Lots of politics trying to get all the different physician groups on the same page. She also has APPE students and is one of the preceptors for the PGY1 rotations.

These positions are few and far between with more as you move West (Kaiser). She did a general PGY1 followed by a PGY2 in infectious disease and became our ID pharmacist when it was still relatively rare to even have a PGY1.


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[rxlea]

Sounds boring. These jobs rarely exist.

They are probably all nerds.

 

[KARM12]

They are probably all nerds.

Every single one of them...probably sit at home on a Friday night and watch Dance Moms reruns.

 

[rxlea]

Every single one of them...probably sit at home on a Friday night and watch Dance Moms reruns.

Or wuss out on going for a drink.

 

[zelman]

They are probably all nerds.

 

[pharmerjohn]

Every single one of them...probably sit at home on a Friday night and watch Dance Moms reruns.

I’m pretty sure this is incorrect… I heard they’re denizens of the forests who bear strong resemblances to either nymphs or satyrs. They feed on nothing but pickled dragon toenails, drink nothing but ambrosia, sacrifice one of their own every autumn to offer blood libation to Artemis, and occasionally spit fireballs from their butts in unison on the years where equinoxes fall on a full moon… That’s what I heard!

 

[rxlea]

I’m pretty sure this is incorrect… I heard they’re denizens of the forests who bear strong resemblances to either nymphs or satyrs. They feed on nothing but pickled dragon toenails, drink nothing but ambrosia, sacrifice one of their own every autumn to offer blood libation to Artemis, and occasionally spit fireballs from their butts in unison on the years where equinoxes fall on a full moon… That’s what I heard!

Rainbow fireballs.

 

[pharmerjohn]

Rainbow fireballs.

That's right, rainbow fireballs, of course! It's a known fact!

 

[KARM12]

That's right, rainbow fireballs, of course! It's a known fact!

I've seen it....

 

[aldolase]

In what ways can an ID pharmacist contribute that an ID physician can't ? Are pharmacists valuable in this niche ?

 

[pharmerjohn]

I've seen it....

Of course, they exist. But like chupacabras, they're almost legendary. 😀

 

[awval999]

In what ways can an ID pharmacist contribute that an ID physician can't ? Are pharmacists valuable in this niche ?

Cheaper.

 

[metrarx]

Cheaper.

Unlike midlevels such as CRNAs, PAs, or NPs, ID pharmacists are not a cheaper replacement for an ID physician. Even if pharmacists get provider status, we won't be seeing ID pharmacists doing consults in hospitals or clinics. They don't have adequate training for that. They sometimes assist ID docs with complicated patients once the consult is done but that's as far as their direct patient care practice takes them.

ID pharmacists do have a role. They do stewardship (biggest role), cost reduction, staff/resident education, counseling (e.g. HIV clinics), protocol development (e.g. Pen/Ceph desensitization), etc.

 

[KARM12]

Complimentary knowledge...

Also, many ID physicians are the biggest offenders for not narrowing therapy.

 

[joetrisman]

Also, many ID physicians are the biggest offenders for not narrowing therapy.

True story Karm

 

[WhYMee]

Not my cup of tea at all, but if anyone in the NY area is looking for this type of a gig I know of a hospital looking for one

 

[Praziquantel86]

I'll come back from the dead for this one.

Short answer is, it depends on what sort of hospital you practice in and what the needs of the institution are. From the pharmacy end, you're often the point-person for whatever antibiotic-related issues there might be - whether that's "pharmacy to dose X antibiotic" protocols, monitoring/improving upon certain SCIP measures, compiling antibiograms, limiting use of high-cost antibiotics, etc. Your specific role varies depending on the size of the institution and how many other people with other overlapping responsibilities there may be. You'll also generally work with infectious diseases staff physicians, infection control, and microbiology to accomplish some of these goals or other initiatives, but again, your mileage varies depending on the institution. From a more clinical perspective, responsibilities may include (but are not limited to) performing stewardship activities (definition of stewardship and how this is accomplished vary at every hospital), rounding with ID services, precepting students/residents, giving lectures to students/residents/pharmacists/physicians/nurses/whomever, serving on hospital committees.

We also nerd out on the reg.

 

[joetrisman]

I'll come back from the dead for this one.

Short answer is, it depends on what sort of hospital you practice in and what the needs of the institution are. From the pharmacy end, you're often the point-person for whatever antibiotic-related issues there might be - whether that's "pharmacy to dose X antibiotic" protocols, monitoring/improving upon certain SCIP measures, compiling antibiograms, limiting use of high-cost antibiotics, etc. Your specific role varies depending on the size of the institution and how many other people with other overlapping responsibilities there may be. You'll also generally work with infectious diseases staff physicians, infection control, and microbiology to accomplish some of these goals or other initiatives, but again, your mileage varies depending on the institution. From a more clinical perspective, responsibilities may include (but are not limited to) performing stewardship activities (definition of stewardship and how this is accomplished vary at every hospital), rounding with ID services, precepting students/residents, giving lectures to students/residents/pharmacists/physicians/nurses/whomever, serving on hospital committees.

We also nerd out on the reg.

You using SABER after hearing the DG pitch? Saw your name on the sign in but didn't see you there.

 

[Praziquantel86]

You using SABER after hearing the DG pitch? Saw your name on the sign in but didn't see you there.

It's interesting, but I'm not sure how well it would work at a place that doesn't have housestaff (who are told they have to use it) manning every patient. It definitely has potential and is certainly worth looking into, though.