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[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.