Pharmacist

What You'll Be Doing

You'll work closely with physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to make sure every prescription is safe, effective, and cost conscious. This isn't a watch and verify role. It's about using your drug knowledge to catch what others might miss and improve patient outcomes beyond the basics. You'll also handle Clinical Pharmacist I duties like drug distribution and supervising support staff.

Specific tasks include:

• Evaluating medication orders for accuracy and completeness. When something doesn't add up, you reach out to the physician or nursing staff to fix it.
• Compounding extemporaneous products ; or verifying that compounding is done correctly ; and recommending alternatives when needed.
• Preparing IV admixtures and sterile products: large volume parenterals, mini bags, TPN solutions, and hazardous agents including cytotoxic drugs.
• Screening each prescription against the patient's profile to catch contraindications, wrong dosages, or conflicts with other meds.
• Monitoring drug therapy under a clinical level pharmacist when working in a decentralized setting.
• Dispensing controlled substances while maintaining perpetual inventory and following every legal requirement and department policy.
• Supervising support personnel ; monitoring attendance, checking work quality, organizing resources based on workload, directing workflow. Making sure deadlines are met.
• Entering and verifying computer entries for drug orders.

In a decentralized setting you'd also talk directly with patients and families ; explaining how to use their medications safely and counseling them on possible side effects. You'd monitor assigned patients' therapy independently during rounds, develop treatment plans based on their specific data, respond to drug information requests (evaluative or not), make sure prescribers follow clinical guidelines and avoid duplicate therapy or non formulary drugs.

The teaching part matters too. You'll provide education for pharmacy techs, clinical pharmacists, residents, nurses ; even other healthcare professionals. And you'll keep your own knowledge sharp through reading journals attending seminars completing continuing education credits as the department requires.

Where This Happens

Washington, DC

Education You Need

• A Doctor of Pharmacy degree (Pharm.D.) from an accredited college ; that's required. Equivalent degrees from accredited colleges also accepted but you need this credential.

Experience That Counts

• A PGY 1 residency OR 3 years of direct patient care experience in a hospital setting is required. No shortcuts here.

Certs That Matter

• A current Pharmacist license (PHARMD) in the state where you practice is mandatory at hire.
• Board certification within one year of becoming eligible for it ; that's not optional either; you need it within 12 months of eligibility date.

The Knowledge Stuff We Look For

Able to communicate clearly in writing and conversationally. Basic computer skills are preferred but not mandatory right away; we can work with someone who learns fast on computers.

The Pay Part