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What does a day in the life of a hospital pharmacist look like?
I'm an undergrad considering a career in pharmacy. I would love to hear about what a typical day is like in the field, especially since volunteer and shadowing opportunities are currently hard to come by due to the pandemic. #july #july20 #pharmacy
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4 answers
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Doc’s Answer
Divya, hospital pharmacists are licensed by the state. Licensing requirements include completing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, passing several examinations, and gaining work experience in a practice-related field. Pharmacists can also find career opportunities in pharmaceutical research, postsecondary education, or heath insurance.
HOSPITAL PHARMACISTS JOB DESCRIPTION
Unlike pharmacists in retail settings, hospital pharmacists don't typically spend the majority of their workday filling prescriptions. Instead, these professionals assist in direct patient care in hospital settings. This might include making rounds with health care practitioners; conducting minor medical tests, like glucose tests and cholesterol screenings; and giving patients advice about medications and healthy lifestyle choices. They also might recommend particular drugs and intravenous admixtures, including dosage amount, and ensure that those medications are given at the right time each day. Additionally, hospital pharmacists might oversee the work of pharmacy technicians and interns, evaluate patients' drug use and report any adverse reactions that patients have to medications.
HOSPITAL PHARMACISTS JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Hospital pharmacists work in hospitals and provide medications to patients. They should have good communication skills since their work involves interacting with doctors and other medical professionals regularly. They also need to be able to prioritize their duties because they involve a wide range of tasks. Since they work in hospitals they may be scheduled during any hours, and it's common for them to work rotating shifts throughout the day or night. Attention to detail is important because they must be precise when filling prescriptions. Job responsibilities of a hospital pharmacist include:
• Preparing IV prescription medications;
• Providing information to medical staff;
• Ensuring the medication is safe for the patient;
• Filling-out paperwork; and
• Monitoring and ordering inventory
HOSPITAL PHARMACISTS REQUIRED SKILLS
Hospital pharmacists must be detail-oriented to ensure that patients are receiving medications and dosages that are safe for them. They also need computer skills to maintain all necessary electronic health records and strong written and verbal communication skills for interacting with patients, patients' families and members of the medical team. Hospital pharmacists must be amenable to working with people of all ages, from infants to the elderly, since these groups are all represented in a hospital's population. Additionally, they need managerial skills to oversee the work of pharmacy technicians and interns, as well as mentoring skills so they can share their knowledge and abilities with these techs and interns.
Hope This was Helpful Divya
HOSPITAL PHARMACISTS JOB DESCRIPTION
Unlike pharmacists in retail settings, hospital pharmacists don't typically spend the majority of their workday filling prescriptions. Instead, these professionals assist in direct patient care in hospital settings. This might include making rounds with health care practitioners; conducting minor medical tests, like glucose tests and cholesterol screenings; and giving patients advice about medications and healthy lifestyle choices. They also might recommend particular drugs and intravenous admixtures, including dosage amount, and ensure that those medications are given at the right time each day. Additionally, hospital pharmacists might oversee the work of pharmacy technicians and interns, evaluate patients' drug use and report any adverse reactions that patients have to medications.
HOSPITAL PHARMACISTS JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Hospital pharmacists work in hospitals and provide medications to patients. They should have good communication skills since their work involves interacting with doctors and other medical professionals regularly. They also need to be able to prioritize their duties because they involve a wide range of tasks. Since they work in hospitals they may be scheduled during any hours, and it's common for them to work rotating shifts throughout the day or night. Attention to detail is important because they must be precise when filling prescriptions. Job responsibilities of a hospital pharmacist include:
• Preparing IV prescription medications;
• Providing information to medical staff;
• Ensuring the medication is safe for the patient;
• Filling-out paperwork; and
• Monitoring and ordering inventory
HOSPITAL PHARMACISTS REQUIRED SKILLS
Hospital pharmacists must be detail-oriented to ensure that patients are receiving medications and dosages that are safe for them. They also need computer skills to maintain all necessary electronic health records and strong written and verbal communication skills for interacting with patients, patients' families and members of the medical team. Hospital pharmacists must be amenable to working with people of all ages, from infants to the elderly, since these groups are all represented in a hospital's population. Additionally, they need managerial skills to oversee the work of pharmacy technicians and interns, as well as mentoring skills so they can share their knowledge and abilities with these techs and interns.
Hope This was Helpful Divya
Updated
Sharool’s Answer
Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability.
Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage.
Maintain records, such as pharmacy files, patient profiles, charge system files, inventories, control records for radioactive nuclei, or registries of poisons, narcotics, or controlled drugs.
Plan, implement, or maintain procedures for mixing, packaging, or labeling pharmaceuticals, according to policy and legal requirements, to ensure quality, security, and proper disposal.
Assess the identity, strength, or purity of medications.
Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage.
Maintain records, such as pharmacy files, patient profiles, charge system files, inventories, control records for radioactive nuclei, or registries of poisons, narcotics, or controlled drugs.
Plan, implement, or maintain procedures for mixing, packaging, or labeling pharmaceuticals, according to policy and legal requirements, to ensure quality, security, and proper disposal.
Assess the identity, strength, or purity of medications.
Updated
EJ’s Answer
Hi, Divya,
There are different pharmacist's role in hospital setting - In-patient pharmacist, specialty pharmacist such as oncology, transplant, etc, or out-patient pharmacist. There might be more depends on hospitals.
I was at out-patient hospital pharmacy and my primary role and responsibility is dispensing correct medications to the right patient without any issues . This entails reviewing prescription/order from doctors, resolving insurance issues, checking medications or any issues related to that order and talking to patients regarding their medications. If there is any problem with order, then I need to discuss with ordering doctor or his staff to resolve that issue. My practice site also managed patients who are recently discharged from hospital. So I call them regularly to makes sure they takes their medications correctly without any issues. Sometimes you'll get a call from doctors for any questions related to medications. You also needs to do follow up with office work such as keeping medical records, ordering medications, and train & hire pharmacy technicians.
There are different pharmacist's role in hospital setting - In-patient pharmacist, specialty pharmacist such as oncology, transplant, etc, or out-patient pharmacist. There might be more depends on hospitals.
I was at out-patient hospital pharmacy and my primary role and responsibility is dispensing correct medications to the right patient without any issues . This entails reviewing prescription/order from doctors, resolving insurance issues, checking medications or any issues related to that order and talking to patients regarding their medications. If there is any problem with order, then I need to discuss with ordering doctor or his staff to resolve that issue. My practice site also managed patients who are recently discharged from hospital. So I call them regularly to makes sure they takes their medications correctly without any issues. Sometimes you'll get a call from doctors for any questions related to medications. You also needs to do follow up with office work such as keeping medical records, ordering medications, and train & hire pharmacy technicians.
Updated
Krystyna’s Answer
From my experience in a hospital setting, there are operational and clinical sides to working as a hospital pharmacist. In terms of operational the day consisted of: reviewing incoming prescriptions for accuracy, safety, medical necessity, appropriate dosage; approving and double checking any medications going out to the floor; double checking all IV medications for accuracy; answering any medication questions that come from the floor. In terms of clinical the day consisted of: working up all patients on the floor you are assigned that day (cardiology, ICU, internal medicine, etc.); ordering any tests needed for dosing; dosing medications such as heparin, warfarin, vancomycin, etc.; rounding with the team on the floor to provide any recommendations and answer any questions. These are some high level descriptions of what I saw as a hospital pharmacist - but every day is different and you can get pulled into a lot of interesting situations!
Thank you for your insight, Krystyna!
Divya