Do clinical pharmacists stand up all the time?

[Padfoot]

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I was looking into this field and I was wondering if clinical pharmacists spend most of their time standing? Or what portion of the time they are sitting vs standing?

 

[Celticspride58]

I was looking into this field and I was wondering if clinical pharmacists spend most of their time standing? Or what portion of the time they are sitting vs standing?

From my experiences working at a pharmacy, I have never seen a pharmacist sit unless it was before we opened and they were sorting through a few things. This may only be because it's family owned and things are run different, but my brother who works at Target in GA rarely sits if at all.

 

[SouthernBelle10]

I was looking into this field and I was wondering if clinical pharmacists spend most of their time standing? Or what portion of the time they are sitting vs standing?

When you say clinical pharmacist, do you mean someone who works in the hospital (ie a staffer), or someone who is a clinical specialist? That may influence your answer. In all honesty though, you might want to focus more on what a clinical pharmacist actually does versus whether they get to sit or stand.

 

[angeleyes68310]

im in the pharmacy tech program now and will be going onto pharmacy and i researched all of pharmacy fields and its 90% standing for pharmacist as well as techs.

 

[Padfoot]

I just want to know some more details.

What is a clinical specialist? isn't that a nurse?
I am talking about a pharmacist that works in a hospital, but does that have to be a staff pharmacist?

 

[Padfoot]

I know that retail pharmacists stand most of the time, but how about clinical pharmacists? What portion of the time do they spend sitting vs standing?

 

[Praziquantel86]

I just want to know some more details.

What is a clinical specialist? isn't that a nurse?
I am talking about a pharmacist that works in a hospital, but does that have to be a staff pharmacist?

Read the stickies before you post about the percentage of time spent standing...that's the least of your worries right now.

 

[jkong]

I work at a clinical (outpatient) pharmacy. We all stand.

buy yourself Danskos or MBTs or some good shoes to stand for 8 hrs 🙂

 

[Electrode]

I'm a hospital (inpatient) pharmacy tech. Hospital pharmacist is the same as Staff pharmacist. Clinical pharmacists also work in hospitals & health care centers.

Clinical pharmacists mostly provide drug/medication counseling or education & advice; to patients, doctors, & (health care) students. And that is what makes them different from a staff/hospital pharmacist (who simply oversees that the doctor or nurses prescription orders & needs are taken care of within legal practicing limits, respectively....with respect to the concerned patient).

Although most of them I've worked with were employed with a combined status of staff/clinical pharmacist. They simply rotate the duties within themselves, as scheduled by the pharmacy director.

Where I work, the staff pharmacist(s) for the day has to always pray for adequate staffing (of techs especially).

The tech does most of the "standing" filling prescriptions, compounding IV's, doing deliveries etc. In the case of under-staffing, the staff pharmacist(s) for that day does the "standing" along with us. Otherwise, they take care of verifications while sitting in front of their computers, which they use to prepare the MAR's, print out medication labels, deal with insurance issues, patient profiles etc.

The clinical pharmacist(s) for the day goes to assigned different hospital units to counsel patients (as scheduled/needed), & doctors (as requested). They also audit patient medication records in order to keep track of (expensive) medications & controlled substances we had dispensed previous day(s). Then there are times when they have to meet with a medical team to actively contribute on what will be the best medication therapy for patients that has been diagnosed with one chronic illness or the other eg cancer.


That's the much I know based on where I work. It may be a different ball game elsewhere, but with closely tied similarities...in duties performed.

But in a nut shell, how much "standing" you do varies from setting to setting, circumstance to circumstance, and day to day.....as far as hospital pharmacy is concerned. I hope that helps🙂

 

[lauradiddle]

The hospital staff pharmacists I work with have different types of jobs. One day, they're sitting and on the phone with doctors and nurses most of the day. Another day they're rounding and doing consults (i.e. on their feet). Clinical specialists (which, btw, are definitely not nurses) have a mix of both as well that will vary day to day. There's no set 50% or 60% of the day devoted to standing. It just depends.

 

[phathead]

Clinical pharmacist is a vastly ambiguous term that is used to describe a very wide range of jobs for a pharmacist.

It's something I covered a while ago on my site, it is a rather poor singular term to describe a pharmacist.

 

[lauradiddle]

I'm a hospital (inpatient) pharmacy tech. Hospital pharmacist is the same as Staff pharmacist. Clinical pharmacists also work in hospitals & health care centers.

Clinical pharmacists mostly provide drug/medication counseling or education & advice; to patients, doctors, & (health care) students. And that is what makes them different from a staff/hospital pharmacist (who simply oversees that the doctor or nurses prescription orders & needs are taken care of within legal practicing limits, respectively....with respect to the concerned patient).

Although most of them I've worked with were employed with a combined status of staff/clinical pharmacist. They simply rotate the duties within themselves, as scheduled by the pharmacy director.

Where I work, the staff pharmacist(s) for the day has to always pray for adequate staffing (of techs especially).

The tech does most of the "standing" filling prescriptions, compounding IV's, doing deliveries etc. In the case of under-staffing, the staff pharmacist(s) for that day does the "standing" along with us. Otherwise, they take care of verifications while sitting in front of their computers, which they use to prepare the MAR's, print out medication labels, deal with insurance issues, patient profiles etc.

The clinical pharmacist(s) for the day goes to assigned different hospital units to counsel patients (as scheduled/needed), & doctors (as requested). They also audit patient medication records in order to keep track of (expensive) medications & controlled substances we had dispensed previous day(s). Then there are times when they have to meet with a medical team to actively contribute on what will be the best medication therapy for patients that has been diagnosed with one chronic illness or the other eg cancer.


That's the much I know based on where I work. It may be a different ball game elsewhere, but with closely tied similarities...in duties performed.

But in a nut shell, how much "standing" you do varies from setting to setting, circumstance to circumstance, and day to day.....as far as hospital pharmacy is concerned. I hope that helps🙂

Ahh, I was one minute late! You put it in much better words, too. I'm an inpatient tech, and I approve of this message. 👍

 

[pharm B]

From what I saw in retail, I think it's safe to say you have a better chance of "sitting" in a clinical position than you do working at Walgreens, etc. As discussed in other threads, some of us have had all sitting implements actually removed from our pharmacies altogether.

Basically, if you're sitting for even 10 minutes here and there throughout the day, you might be sitting more than you would be in some retail chains.

 

[Sparda29]

Clinical pharmacists at the hospital where I rotated were sitting most of the time, but they do move around the hospital.

 

[Padfoot]

I'm a hospital (inpatient) pharmacy tech. Hospital pharmacist is the same as Staff pharmacist. Clinical pharmacists also work in hospitals & health care centers.

Clinical pharmacists mostly provide drug/medication counseling or education & advice; to patients, doctors, & (health care) students. And that is what makes them different from a staff/hospital pharmacist (who simply oversees that the doctor or nurses prescription orders & needs are taken care of within legal practicing limits, respectively....with respect to the concerned patient).

Although most of them I've worked with were employed with a combined status of staff/clinical pharmacist. They simply rotate the duties within themselves, as scheduled by the pharmacy director.

Where I work, the staff pharmacist(s) for the day has to always pray for adequate staffing (of techs especially).

The tech does most of the "standing" filling prescriptions, compounding IV's, doing deliveries etc. In the case of under-staffing, the staff pharmacist(s) for that day does the "standing" along with us. Otherwise, they take care of verifications while sitting in front of their computers, which they use to prepare the MAR's, print out medication labels, deal with insurance issues, patient profiles etc.

The clinical pharmacist(s) for the day goes to assigned different hospital units to counsel patients (as scheduled/needed), & doctors (as requested). They also audit patient medication records in order to keep track of (expensive) medications & controlled substances we had dispensed previous day(s). Then there are times when they have to meet with a medical team to actively contribute on what will be the best medication therapy for patients that has been diagnosed with one chronic illness or the other eg cancer.


That's the much I know based on where I work. It may be a different ball game elsewhere, but with closely tied similarities...in duties performed.

But in a nut shell, how much "standing" you do varies from setting to setting, circumstance to circumstance, and day to day.....as far as hospital pharmacy is concerned. I hope that helps🙂

Thanks, your post was very informative.
And thanks to everyone else who took the time to respond.
I sorta wanted a rough estimate, but I see that it is difficult...

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Thanks, your post was very informative.
And thanks to everyone else who took the time to respond.
I sorta wanted a rough estimate, but I see that it is difficult...

No one can give you a set % because every job and every job site is different. Where I work, the inpatient and clinical pharmacists sit for most of the day. Outpatient pharmacists have 5 different work stations they rotate through and only one is primarily standing. But in retail pharmacy, most pharmacists stand the majority of the day, I think.

 

[hckyplyr]

I'm a hospital (inpatient) pharmacy tech. Hospital pharmacist is the same as Staff pharmacist. Clinical pharmacists also work in hospitals & health care centers.

Clinical pharmacists mostly provide drug/medication counseling or education & advice; to patients, doctors, & (health care) students. And that is what makes them different from a staff/hospital pharmacist (who simply oversees that the doctor or nurses prescription orders & needs are taken care of within legal practicing limits, respectively....with respect to the concerned patient).

Although most of them I've worked with were employed with a combined status of staff/clinical pharmacist. They simply rotate the duties within themselves, as scheduled by the pharmacy director.

Where I work, the staff pharmacist(s) for the day has to always pray for adequate staffing (of techs especially).

The tech does most of the "standing" filling prescriptions, compounding IV's, doing deliveries etc. In the case of under-staffing, the staff pharmacist(s) for that day does the "standing" along with us. Otherwise, they take care of verifications while sitting in front of their computers, which they use to prepare the MAR's, print out medication labels, deal with insurance issues, patient profiles etc.

The clinical pharmacist(s) for the day goes to assigned different hospital units to counsel patients (as scheduled/needed), & doctors (as requested). They also audit patient medication records in order to keep track of (expensive) medications & controlled substances we had dispensed previous day(s). Then there are times when they have to meet with a medical team to actively contribute on what will be the best medication therapy for patients that has been diagnosed with one chronic illness or the other eg cancer.


That's the much I know based on where I work. It may be a different ball game elsewhere, but with closely tied similarities...in duties performed.

But in a nut shell, how much "standing" you do varies from setting to setting, circumstance to circumstance, and day to day.....as far as hospital pharmacy is concerned. I hope that helps🙂

Not to nitpick, but when do inpatient hospital pharmacists deal with insurance issues? Unless you fill meds for staff?

 

[rph3664]

A clinical pharmacist for the most part has a desk job.

The CP at my last job, who doubles as the person I believe is primarily responsible for the destruction of my career, 😡 in addition to not standing much didn't WORK much either.

 

[KARM12]

I stand up to a fews hrs at a time on rounds and sit the rest of the day. Much better than 12hrs straight of standing.

 

[rxlea]

Pharmacists at my hospital sit most of the time if they are in the central pharmacy. Those that are in the mobile pharmacies have desks but they usually walk around their floor so they are visible/available and can follow their patients a lot better. They each have lap tops they carry so they can verify orders and look at labs and do dosing or whatever else. They also do rounds in the morning.

 

[delano2000]

Pharmacists at my hospital sit most of the time if they are in the central pharmacy. Those that are in the mobile pharmacies have desks but they usually walk around their floor so they are visible/available and can follow their patients a lot better. They each have lap tops they carry so they can verify orders and look at labs and do dosing or whatever else. They also do rounds in the morning.

Pretty much how it is at my hospital.👍

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Whenever I did clinical shifts, it was more walking around and looking at charts than anything else.

And staffing is mostly sitting on your hind end.

 

[Sparda29]

Whenever I did clinical shifts, it was more walking around and looking at charts than anything else.

And staffing is mostly sitting on your hind end.

No e-charts?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

No e-charts?

If you want to wait 5 hours for the dorks on the floor to scan in new handwritten orders...

 

[Sparda29]

If you want to wait 5 hours for the dorks on the floor to scan in new handwritten orders...

That sucks, hospital where I rotated at had a pretty well functioning and well detailed e-chart system. There were only like 4 times in my 2 months there that I had to go and look at the physical handwritten chart because of missing info in the e-chart.

Unfortunately, handwritten charts have just as bad if not worse handwriting than prescriptions. I really don't understand how they expect another healthcare professional to be able to read their chicken scratch.

Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NY IMO has the ideal computer system and e-chart system if I wanted to pick a place to work as a clinical pharmacist. But its only ~200 beds, I'd like a place that's a little more busy.

 

[Glycerin]

I sit for most of my shift, generally speaking; it just depends on the day. I primarily work in the ED, so unless I'm at a code/trauma, walking to/from the satellite to check an IV, in a patient room clarifying something, or walking over to talk to a nurse or physician, I'm usually sitting, reviewing charts/orders and verifying orders (we have CPOE and eMARs).

 

[spacecowgirl]

I sit for most of my shift, generally speaking; it just depends on the day. I primarily work in the ED, so unless I'm at a code/trauma, walking to/from the satellite to check an IV, in a patient room clarifying something, or walking over to talk to a nurse or physician, I'm usually sitting, reviewing charts/orders and verifying orders (we have CPOE and eMARs).

+1 (minus the ED part). I sit on my butt most of the day, hence its increase in size

 

[R2pharmD2]

I don't see the big deal about being on your feet. Unless there is some sort of health issue involved, it's something you can get used to pretty quickly. I've worked retail, in various capacities, for 7 years now and I actually prefer to spend most of my time on my feet. I guess it's just a personal preference.

 

[Nikkia]

I don't see the big deal about being on your feet. Unless there is some sort of health issue involved, it's something you can get used to pretty quickly. I've worked retail, in various capacities, for 7 years now and I actually prefer to spend most of my time on my feet. I guess it's just a personal preference.

Not a concern when you are still in your 20s. Things generally get bad to worse 10-15 years down the road.

 

[rph3664]

I once did relief work at an independent pharmacy where the pharmacist did all the order entry, and he did sit down at a desk. That he probably weighed 350 pounds was a factor. 😳 I'm guessing the techs brought him stuff to check for the most part; this was a low-volume store in a rural clinic that made most of their money from jail and nursing home contracts

The techs did know how to enter, so when I was there, they did that and I checked things on the counter, which was not how they were used to doing it.

 

[R2pharmD2]

Not a concern when you are still in your 20s. Things generally get bad to worse 10-15 years down the road.

Fair point. I did mention health issues as a possible exception though, and old age may qualify as a health issue