Previous Page  169 / 320 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 169 / 320 Next Page
Page Background

573

[CLINICAL PHARMACISTS: PRACTITIONERS WHO ARE ESSENTIAL MEMBERS OF YOUR CLINICAL CARE TEAM - Judith Jacobi, PharmD]

graduates already have a Bachelor of Science in another

field. Pharmacists who are interested in direct patient care

roles can seek additional training in postgraduate year-one

(PGY-1) residency programs in acute care or ambulatory

care settings. These are broad-based accredited expe-

riences in clinical care, drug information, administration,

teaching methods, and project/research over 12 months (8).

Those interested in specialization can complete a second

post-graduate year (PGY-2) residency in areas as diverse

as any medical specialty (ambulatory care, critical care,

infectious disease, internal medicine, oncology, and many

others) (9). Additional research fellowship training may

follow, especially for those interested in an academic or

research role.

Pharmacists who are eligible for licensure in the United

States have completed formal training, and many univer-

sities are partnering with pharmacy schools outside North

America to create clinical pharmacy training opportunities

for international students. The training programs in Chile

have evolved to include additional clinical experiential

training experiences (10).

Clinical pharmacists may practice under a formal collabo-

rative practice agreement with physicians in their practice

area or as granted by the hospital (11). As an example, a

pharmacist may modify the dose, frequency, or route of

administration of medications covered by a collaborative

practice agreement. They may also initiate serum concen-

tration monitoring or order other applicable laboratory

tests to monitor the effects of the therapy. Quality assess-

ment has demonstrated the value of these programs, (12)

Hospitals may require individuals to provide periodic quality

assessments or proof of a minimum volume of activity. The

laws for pharmacist activities are governed by individual

states and local hospital regulation.

FIGURE 1. THE PHARMACIST PROCESS OF CARE (6)

Ref. 6.