Clinical Pharmacist - Transplant Infectious Disease

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About Duke University Hospital

Pursue your passion for caring with Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which is consistently ranked among the best in the United States. The largest of Duke Health's four hospitals with 1062 patient beds, it features comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, including a regional emergency/trauma center, an endo-surgery center, and more.

Applicable Position Description: Clinical Pharmacist - Transplant/Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases (TxID) Transitions of Care and Outpatient TxID Clinic

Work Schedule:

• Weekdays
• Day Shift

Position Summary: The Duke University Hospital (DUH) Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) program improves patient safety by facilitating earlier discharge of patients on intravenous (IV) anti-infectives, providing close laboratory monitoring and documentation, and improving communication at transitions of care. The main role of this position is to establish and grow services for the tXID OPAT population. Transplant ID clinics are embedded in the abdominal transplant, cardiothoracic transplant, VAD, and Blood & Cancer Center clinics. To ensure optimal transitions of care, the pharmacist will coordinate with inpatient transplant ID teams to identify patients likely to need OPAT, then round on those patients with the respective TxID teams as needed. The position will collaborate with existing OPAT services at DUHS.

Description of Institution: DUH is a 954-bed tertiary care, academic medical center with comprehensive inpatient and ambulatory care services. The Department of Pharmacy provides comprehensive pharmaceutical care with a staff of approximately 450 pharmacists, technicians, administrative and support personnel. Duke's transplant, heart failure and cancer programs are nationally recognized for both their high patient volume and exceptional clinical outcomes. This reputation for excellence provides a unique environment where advanced infectious diseases care supports some of the most complex immunocompromised hosts in the country. Located within the Research Triangle, Duke University and the region offer an excellent quality of life. Additional information may be viewed at http://www.dukehealth.org/about_duke.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Clinical Practice and Medication Management: TxID OPAT Outpatient Clinic

• Provides clinical pharmacy support for TxID patients on Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT).
• Participates in clinic and provides clinical pharmacy services and oversight for safe use of medication for patients receiving home antimicrobial infusion therapies, such as:
  
  
  
  • Completes medication reconciliation activities
  • Provides medication counseling/education
  • Interprets pharmacokinetic/therapeutic drug monitoring data and makes dose change recommendations as deemed appropriate
  • Screens for drug interactions, therapeutic duplications, omissions, etc.
  • Monitors patients for therapeutic and/or toxic response to medication
  • Coordinates patient care with inpatient, home infusion, home health, and skilled nursing care teams
  • Ensures continuity of care with antimicrobial therapy
  
  
  
  
• Provides support to improve safety and to reduce risk to patients treated in the TxID programs. Reports events and/or concerns via the safety reporting system.
• Provides oversight of cost-effective use of medications and treatments. This includes risk reduction and correct utilization of resources to optimize care.
• Provides support to assure compliance with The Joint Commission accreditation standards.
• Coordinates with Duke Retail Pharmacies and Patient Assistance Program teams to provide seamless medication access to patients. Participates in Specialty Pharmacy on-call coverage.
• Facilitates prescription fulfillment through Duke Retail pharmacies.
• Serves as a resource for Duke Retail Pharmacy staff on TxID-related medication issues.
• Proactively assesses and ensures medication adherence and makes appropriate documentation on the inquiry.
• Develops systems for monitoring and reporting impact of TxID OPAT activities on patient care.
• Provides oversight of TxID staff education for critical elements of medication use in patient care and clinical research.
• Educates medical, nursing, and pharmacy staff about the management, prescribing, and monitoring of TxID therapies.

Clinical Practice and Medication Management: TxID Inpatient Rounding

• Identify admitted TxID patients with OPAT needs
• Collaborate with TxID teams to develop treatment plans with optimized medication and dosing
• Follow up on pending data at the time of discharge (labs and culture/susceptibilities) pertinent to ID pharmacotherapy to facilitate earlier discharge

Duke University Hospital Department of Pharmacy

• Maintains familiarity with all departmental programs and works as an integral part of the pharmacy team.
• Models behaviors that exemplify Duke's core values, including teamwork, integrity, diversity, excellence and safety.
• Takes responsibility for personal and professional growth.
• Ability to pursue Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP) designation.
• Participates in the education of pharmacy students and residents.
• Participate in the conduct of didactic and experiential training of present and future pharmacists and physicians in principles of antimicrobial stewardship.
• Presents scholarly materials at educational conferences for the ID program and pharmacy professional meetings and organizations (Duke, State/Local, National).
• Understands and actively participates in the achievement of division and departmental financial goals.
• Develops and participates in pharmacy-related research projects and quality improvement initiatives.
• Provides leadership in developing guidelines, order forms, and critical pathways to improve the care and safety of patients.

Minimum Qualifications

Education

Doctor of Pharmacy Degree OR BS Pharmacy Degree

Experience

• With a BS Pharmacy degree, two years of pharmacy practice experience, or acceptable board certification, or completion of an accredited residency program and demonstrated ability to achieve positive patient outcomes in a similar environment is required.
• With a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, no experience is required.
• Three years of clinical hospital experience and/or completion of a PGY1 residency and PGY2 residency in infectious diseases or transplant preferred

Degrees, Licensures, Certifications

• Licensed Pharmacist or eligible to practice pharmacy in North Carolina

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends onthe robust exchange of ideas-an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.