When you join the growing BILH team, you're not just taking a job, you’re making a difference in people’s lives.
Under the general supervision of Antimicrobial Stewardship (AS) leadership, the ASP Pharmacist 3 is the third step in the four-level career ladder from Novice to Expert and is for individuals with a thorough understanding of antimicrobials and growing independence and expertise in AS across diverse healthcare environments. The ASP3 assists the ASP4 and the Medical and AS Directors in daily AS activities towards the system goal of improving antimicrobial utilization at the individual institution and system level. The ASP3 key job functions include use of computer systems to evaluate provider order entry, microbiology interfacing, use of online medical records and alerts for best practice, assessment of prescribing for, quality and safety, and functioning as the point person for designated service lines or topic areas. This candidate will assist in the tracking and trending of antimicrobial resistance particularly as it relates to utilization. The ASP3 will participate in the education of prescribers and other healthcare personnel during live order review and feedback with the goal of maximizing antibiotic efficacy and cost effectiveness. They will work toward identification of adverse drug events and solutions to avoid future events and participate in antimicrobial formulary optimization to foster evidence-based practices while helping to constrain cost. The ASP3 will complete ongoing continuing education in the field through self-study, mentorship and sponsored training activities, while also serving as a mentor to the care team.
Job Description:
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Practices pharmacy with a focus on antimicrobial management in accordance with the laws, rules and regulation of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire Boards of Registration in Pharmacy, Departments of Public Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Drug Enforcement Administration and in accordance with established policies and procedures. Maintains licensure and credentials in accordance with the Board of Registration and submits proof annually.
2. Assumes responsibility for daily team-based activities of the AS program including pre-prescriptive approval reviews, post-prescriptive review and feedback, reviews clinical decision support alerts relative to drug duplication, bug-drug mismatches, therapeutic drug monitoring and intravenous to oral conversions as assigned by the Directors.
3. Reviews the preliminary assessments of ASP 1 and ASP 2 interventions relative to anti-infective medication orders and utilization and provides feedback. Identifies those marked as inappropriate, incomplete, or otherwise unclear as subjects for a trending report with the need for follow up. Reviews the documentation of follow up AS interventions and/or discussion/s with the healthcare team to ensure continuity of care with other pharmacy and AS staff. Communicates applicable information to subsequent shifts to ensure continuity of care.
4. Identifies areas for practice improvement and performs drug utilization and/or practice reviews to address observed trends, in collaboration with the ASP4 and Directors.
5. Promotes a culture of patient safety by submitting antimicrobial medication-related events, protocol deviations and near misses. Participates in evaluation of safety events with support from ASP4 and AS Directors.
6. Develops the materials (e.g., slide sets-summaries) for multidisciplinary education programs aimed to build awareness about institution-specific best practice relative to antimicrobial utilization including staff competencies.
7. Collaborates with clinicians and other AS experts to acquire input relative to clinical decision trees, guided decision making, and order questions related to antibiotic utilization and resistance partially based on data reports from the National Health Safety Network (NHSN) benchmarking protocol.
8. Builds consensus on clinical and operational projects to address process improvement in areas such as clinical documentation, AS interventions, and communication strategies. Partners with primary teams on documenting transitional care plans between inpatient care areas and ensures compliance (e.g., follow up for duration of therapy, de-escalation of therapy, or conversion to oral therapy).
9. Demonstrates good judgment and maintains strict adherence to BILH confidentiality guidelines and always maintains compliance with HIPAA.
10. Additional duties may be assigned based on individual skills and competencies within specific areas of AS (e.g., data analysis of dosing by indication, duration by diagnosis, use of diagnostics to drive de-escalation).
Qualifications/Skills & Knowledge Requirements:
Required Qualifications
1. Doctoral degree in Pharmacy (PharmD) required.
2. License to practice as a Pharmacist in Massachusetts or New Hampshire depending on practice location.
3. Completion of PGY1 residency and 1-3 years’ inpatient work experience in AS and Infectious Diseases, or completion of PGY2 residency, or 3-5 years’ inpatient work experience in AS and Infectious Diseases.
4. Board Certification in Infectious Diseases Practice.
5. Certification in Antimicrobial Stewardship from a national accrediting provider- Society of ID Pharmacists, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
Preferred Qualifications:
1. Experience in use of electronic health record, particularly Epic, including antimicrobial stewardship tools and/or other related software.
2. Detail oriented, critical thinker, effective communicator with analytical abilities and strong interpersonal skills.
3. Knowledge and/or experience in related fields such as microbiology, infection prevention, public health and quality improvement.
Pay Range:
$0.00 – $416,000.00
The pay range listed for this position is the base hourly wage range the organization reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for this position at this time. Actual compensation is determined based on several factors, that may include seniority, education, training, relevant experience, relevant certifications, geography of work location, job responsibilities, or other applicable factors permissible by law. Compensation may exceed the base hourly rate depending on shift differentials, call pay, premium pay, overtime pay, and other additional pay practices, as applicable to the position and in accordance with the law.
