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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?
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?
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?
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?
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🙂
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...
Not to nitpick, but when do inpatient hospital pharmacists deal with insurance issues? Unless you fill meds for staff?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🙂
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.
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?
If you want to wait 5 hours for the dorks on the floor to scan in new handwritten orders...
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).
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.