Hospital Pharmacist Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides exhaustive information on the hospital pharmacist job description, to help you learn the work they do.

It highlights the tasks, duties, and responsibilities that make up the hospital pharmacist work description.

It also presents the major requirements that you may be expected to meet to be hired for the hospital pharmacist role by most employers/recruiters.

What Does a Hospital Pharmacist Do?

The hospital pharmacist job description entails the delivering of all pharmaceutical care to patients, visitors, and service users in the hospital.

It involves supporting the nursing profession as a part of the team, and providing patient safety in collaboration with other registered health professionals.

They provide a personal service for all patients and staff, in line with the hospital’s values and ethos.

A hospital pharmacist provides leadership, management, and consultancy to the healthcare team on all aspects of pharmaceutical care.

These include patient education, medicines management and drug related risk assessment to achieve best clinical outcomes for patients.

More on Hospital Pharmacist Job Description

They promote quality, safety, and security of pharmaceutical care through effective leadership, management, interpersonal skills and clinical expertise.

The hospital pharmacist duties also involves support the hospital’s strategic objectives in healthcare.

They do this by promoting quality and improving patient satisfaction with the provision of quality healthcare services.

Hospital pharmacists comply with all current legislation relating to the safe use of medicines, including those relating to pharmacovigilance.

They are responsible for promoting and maintain good working relationships with other professionals, including pharmacists, hospital administration, and healthcare providers.

Furthermore, they provide leadership and management in achieving positive patient outcomes for all patients.

This they do by promoting safe, quality healthcare through consultation with senior management and other health care professionals.

The hospital pharmacist ensures the provision of safe patient care services by promoting safety awareness to their staff and patients.

They ensure ethical practice in line with the hospital’s values and ethos.

Additional Duties Performed by Hospital Pharmacists

A hospital pharmacist acts as a resource to other members of staff within the department.

They ensure that all health care team members have an understanding of any medicines they may need to administer safely to patients.

It is also their responsibilities to provide assistance to other hospital staff members when necessary, including pharmaceutical services, patient care, and safety.

They conduct risk assessments of patients’ drugs of choice in line with current professional guidelines and best practice.

Hospital pharmacists promote and maintain positive working relationships with the health care team.

They participate in their professional development, representing the hospital at appropriate events, and supporting the team’s work through effective communication.

Hospital Pharmacist Job Description Sample/Example/Template

The hospital pharmacist job description entails the following duties, tasks, and responsibilities:

• Ensure that all medications given to patients are prescribed for a legitimate healthcare purpose within the hospital pharmacopoeia. They should be safe, effective, and appropriate, and documented in accordance with current guidelines for professional practice
• Order drugs, medical supplies and other products in line with correct prescribing practice and relevant legislation, including national guidelines
• Provide post-prescribing advice to patients through effective communication with healthcare professionals
• Work with the clinical staff to ensure that patients are prescribed the correct dose of medication. This should be according to current guidelines and that they understand how they need to use their medication
• Monitor drug therapy, including the regular review of patient’s medication, dosage or frequency of administration. A variety of methods should be used, such as questionnaires and interviews in conjunction with other health care professionals involved in the patient’s care plan
• Provide drug information to patients in order to provide clear advice on the appropriate use of medications
• Ensure safe and accurate administration of medications to patients through effective communication with other health care professionals
• Ensure all drugs used in the hospital are stored in suitable conditions, prepared correctly by hospital pharmacy staff (if required) and administered safely to patients.
• Promote safe drug disposal practices
• Provide advice on drugs of addiction when indicated through appropriate communication with other health care professionals. Use a variety of methods, such as interviews, questionnaires, and counseling
• Prepare and monitor drug administration charts and provide effective oversight. This is to ensure compliance with all hospital policies, procedures, and legal requirements
• Provide accurate, timely, and safe supply of medications to patients through effective communication with other health care professionals.

Hospital Pharmacist Job Description for Resume

If you have worked before in the position of a hospital pharmacist or are presently working in that role and are making a new resume, then you can apply the hospital pharmacist job description example given above in making a compelling Professional Experience section for your resume.

You can highlight the hospital pharmacist duties and responsibilities from the above sample job description in your resume’s Professional Experience, to declare that you have been successful performing the role of a hospital pharmacist.

This piece of information in your resume can greatly boost its effectiveness in getting the recruiter/employer to hire you for the new position, especially if the new job requires candidates to have some work experience as a hospital pharmacist to be hired.

Hospital Pharmacist Requirements: Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

If you are seeking the job of a hospital pharmacist, here are major requirements you may be expected to fulfill to be hired:

• Maintenance of up–to-date knowledge of drug use in clinical areas through continual research into appropriate sources
• Up-to-date knowledge of prescribing guidelines as well as legal requirements, legislation and policies
• Regular and effective communication with other health care professionals using a variety of methods such as questionnaires, diaries, monitoring drug therapy and interviewing patients to obtain available information on the patient’s drug regime
• Effective supervision over pharmacy staff members to ensure safe and accurate administration of medications in line with current legislative requirements and hospital policies
• An understanding of current legislation, including any relevant care leaver legislation and its application to the hospital pharmacy
• An understanding of current guidance on medical device regulation and specification
• Must hold and maintain current registration with the HESA
• Maintain good working relationship with other hospital pharmacists and members of the medical staff.

Hospital Pharmacist Salary

According to salary.com, the starting income for a clinical/hospital pharmacist ranges from $134,600 to $152,100, with a base salary of $142,800 being the average.

Conclusion

According to the NHS, hospital pharmacists are responsible for not only dispensing medication, but also maintaining safe storage conditions, providing supervision to pharmacy staff and updating knowledge.

This post is helpful to individuals interested in the hospital pharmacist career who want to increase their knowledge of what the role entails.

It is also useful to recruiters/employers who are looking to hire for the vacant hospital pharmacist position in their companies and need to make a detailed job description for the role.

They can apply the sample hospital pharmacist job description provided on this page in making one for their companies for use in their hiring process for competent hospital pharmacist.