Clinical Pharmacist - Neonatal and Pediatrics

Are you looking for a place to showcase your clinical hospital pharmaceutical skills?

We have the perfect Relief Full Time opportunity for a Clinical Pharmacist to join our team in Neonatal and Pediatrics at Surrey Memorial Hospital located in Surrey, BC. This relief role is available until June 2024 or until return of incumbent.

Who are we?

We are a collaboration of four premier health employers Fraser Health, Provincial Health Services, Providence and Vancouver Coastal health. We provide an integrated approach to pharmaceutical care and service excellence for our clients. We are committed to investing in your professional development in creating an environment where you can advance your career.

As a Clinical Pharmacist you will work to provide the following services to our patients:

• Individualized pharmacotherapy
• Counselling patients about their medication therapy
• Work in collaboration with physicians, and other health care providers to develop implement and monitor therapeutic plans
• Assist in the development of drug therapy guidelines for individual disease conditions
• Prepare and submit for publication in professional journals, case studies and articles that share new knowledge
• Acts as department resource person within your assigned area
• Participate in medication use evaluations, quality improvement initiatives and clinical drug trials
• Provides mentorship and supervision to pharmacy students, residents and new staff.
• Additionally, we would depend on your expertise to ensure that prescriptions are validated and dispensed accurately; and that medication safety concerns, working with the health care team to resolve discrepancies and/or problems are resolved expediently; your professional practice activities shall be documented proficiently.

Sound like this is for you?

To join us you will need:

• Current registration as a Pharmacist with the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia.
• Completion of an accredited Hospital Pharmacy Residency Program 

Our pharmacy team always aspires to improve and achieve the best possible care for our patients and improve their quality of life. 

Effective October 26, 2021, all new hires to Fraser Health will need to have full COVID 19 vaccination (have received a full series of a World Health Organization “WHO” approved vaccine against infection by SARS-COV-2, or a combination of approved WHO vaccines). Please note this applies to all postings, and individual medical exemptions must be approved by the Provincial Health Officer.

Here’s what we have for you:

Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) is a 611 acute care bed, University of BC Affiliated, regional referral and teaching hospital that has the busiest emergency in BC. The neonatal and pediatric patients within this hospital receive pharmacy services from a separate pharmacy. At Surrey Memorial, there is an inpatient pediatric unit, a separate pediatric emergency department, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, child and adolescent mental health units, and many pediatric outpatient clinics. In addition, our pharmacy provides the clinical pharmacy services for the maternity units. You will have the opportunity to work in a fast growing and exciting organization with professionals who are eminent in their respective fields. The Neonatal and Pediatric Pharmacy offers peer group participation and mentoring opportunities and have 4 CPS on staff providing support to pharmacists in clinical roles. We offer a competitive salary package which includes comprehensive health benefits coverage.

Our pharmacy team always aspires to improve and achieve the best possible care for our patients and improve their quality of life.

We aim to build an environment where you love the work you do, the place where you work, and the people around you. From the financial advisor handling our health care resources, to the IT professional enabling life-saving data, to the nurse and physician on the front line of patient care, everyone plays a role in the care continuum. Together, we create great workplaces. 

Apply now to join our diverse team!

One team, best pharmacy care, better lives.

The Clinical Pharmacist provides clinical pharmacy services including individualization of patient medication therapy; patient medication counselling; consultation with physicians, nurses and other health care providers to develop and discuss therapeutic plans and assistance in the development of drug therapy guidelines for individual disease conditions.

Provides support to the Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee by preparing written summaries and recommendations on drug usage; contributes items such as case studies and articles for submission to professional journals; acts as department resource person in the assigned area of responsibility; participates in medication use evaluations and clinical drug trials; provides instruction and/or supervision to pharmacy students and residents.

Additionally, the Clinical Pharmacist performs drug distribution duties including processing prescriptions by reviewing prescribed medication therapy; validating prescriptions; identifying safety concerns; contacting the subscriber and/or the health care team to resolve discrepancies or problems; documenting discussions or modifications to the medication therapy and dispensing medications.

1. Consults with physicians, nurses and other health care providers to develop and discuss therapeutic plans appropriate for each patient based on chart review and assessment of clinical responses. Ensures appropriate documentation is maintained in the patient health record in accordance with regulations, protocols and practice standards.
2. Individualizes patient medication therapy by performing activities such as referencing standard literature/publications and patient demographic information, reviewing patient charts and laboratory test results, meeting with the patient and health care team to assess clinical response of the patient to medication therapy and modifying or developing therapeutic plans to ensure that medication therapy is consistent with the patient''s needs.
3. Provides patient medication counselling regarding drug therapy by reviewing reference literature, summarizing information and meeting with patients and their families to provide and explain information and plans, demonstrating procedures, techniques and use of equipment, and assessing patient's/family's understanding of the procedures, techniques and equipment.
4. Assists the health care team in developing drug therapy guidelines for individual disease conditions by reviewing current literature, compiling and analyzing information relating to current therapy guidelines, providing suggestions and recommendations, and monitoring the effectiveness of current guidelines on patient health care outcomes.
5. Participates in ward rounds, program team meetings and provision of pharmacy services at the unit level to enhance patient care.
6. Acts as department resource person in the assigned area of responsibility. Supports both department and hospital staff by providing detailed drug information on issues related to drug therapy in those disease states which are treated within the program.
7. Contributes items such as case studies and review articles to professional journals by performing activities such as identifying topics, gathering and analyzing data, reviewing current literature, writing and submitting articles for publication.
8. Provides instruction and/or supervision to pharmacy students and residents by preparing educational material, demonstrating procedures, lecturing, supervising during patient care activities and providing input into performance evaluations.
9. Participates in quality improvement activities through methods such as reviewing current practices, performing quality assurance audits, identifying actual or potential problems and recommending changes. 
10. Performs drug distribution duties including interpreting medication orders/prescriptions and dispensing medications using a computerized medication information system in accordance with legal, professional and departmental policies, procedures and standards.
11. Reviews prescriptions for therapeutic suitability by referring to standardized references, interpreting laboratory data, and/or reviewing patient specific demographics. 
12. Communicates with physicians, patients and/or other health care team members for prescription clarification and problem resolution. Documents the outcome of any interaction with the prescriber in the patient's health care record.
13. Ensures that medications are efficiently and accurately dispensed and/or compounded and labeled and that all necessary dispensing records are completed.
14. Participates in the collection of data for medication use evaluation projects and documents the required information. Assists in maintaining adequate inventories, notes shortages, requisitions drugs and/or supplies and monitors expiry dates, reports procedural errors and participates in quality improvement activities.
15. Participates in clinical drug trials by dispensing medications and completing associated documentation. Reviews cases of reported drug adverse reactions and completes necessary documentation.
16. Participates in implementation of medication safety initiatives and quality control activities in accordance with established standards and procedures.
17. Participates in staff meetings, committees and other programs as required; identifies opportunities to improve processes and/or procedures to enable safe and efficient operations and refers to supervisor and/or others.
18. Maintains records for narcotic and controlled drugs, special access program drugs and departmental statistics in accordance with legal, professional and departmental standards, polices and procedures.
19. Prepares reports on a variety of activities within the discipline, gathers and records information into approved formats, accounts for variances, sets up and updates computerized files and spreadsheets using word processing and spreadsheet software.
20. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Education and Experience

Current registration as a Pharmacist with the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia.

Completion of an accredited Hospital Pharmacy Residency Program or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Skills and Abilities

• Broad knowledge of organization policies, procedures and standards of care.
• Knowledge of evidence-based clinical pharmacy practice.
• Knowledge of medication use evaluation.
• Knowledge of research processes and methodology.
• Knowledge of drug distribution processes in a hospital setting.
• Ability to apply clinical pharmacy knowledge and make decisions with a minimum of supervision.
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other health practitioners, as well as patients, family members and the public. 
• Ability to organize and prioritize work.
• Ability to operate related equipment.
• Physical ability to carry out the duties of the position.