Antimicrobial Stewardship Infectious Diseases Pharmacist 2

Become part of a growing Antimicrobial Stewardship system program at Beth Israel Lahey Health with a full-time position at our central location in the historic Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, MA. This pharmacist will join a team integral to the expansion of dedicated Antimicrobial Stewardship services across hospitals in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. This position is the second tier in the four-level career ladder from Novice to Expert and will report to the Manager of Antimicrobial Stewardship across our community hospital sites.

Under the general supervision of Antimicrobial Stewardship Program ASP leadership and senior AS pharmacists (levels 3 and 4) the antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist 2 assists the ASP3-4 and the Medical and AS Directors with daily dedicated AS activities. The pharmacist will work to improve antimicrobial utilization through processes including use of computer systems to evaluate provider order entry, microbiology results, patient specific data, progress notes, and alerts for best practice, quality and safety. The ASP2 will work with guidance from local ASP3-4 to assist in the tracking of team interventions and activities. The ASP2 will serve as a resource for other pharmacy clinical specialists and trainees for collaborative efforts to improve anti-infective use. They will participate in the orientation and training of frontline staff and trainees to empower them to manage AS activities. They will identify and propose solutions for clinical-operational problems under the guidance of ASP3-4. They will work collaboratively and systematically to review the current standard antimicrobial susceptibility reports based on site of infection and pathogen. The ASP2 will receive ongoing training and professional development in the field through self-study, observation, mentorship and sponsored training activities.

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.
3. Eligibility and willingness to obtain Board Certification in Infectious Diseases Practice.
4. Eligibility and willingness to obtain 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.