Specialist Clinical & Medicines Information and Advice Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

To work within the Pharmacy Clinical Team and Medicines Information & Advice Team, to provide a comprehensive Pharmacy Service throughout the locality. The split will be approximately 50% in each of these areas.

To be part of the Team, working to maintain and develop the Medicines Information & Advice Service, to facilitate the safe and cost-effective use of medicines through the provision of robust, up-to-date advice.

To use your pharmaceutical expertise for the benefit of patients and the organisation.

To manage and develop staff to ensure that the objectives of the Trust and Pharmacy Service are achieved.

Specialty Clinical Pharmacy Service:

To provide information, advice and guidance on the safe, effective and economical use of medicines and to challenge poor practice.

To maintain appropriate standards of service and safety; to enforce guidelines, policies and procedures to ensure standards are met.

To optimise medicines management by reconciling drug histories, performing medication reviews and using patients own medicines.

To optimise medicines, through prescribing role, operating within areas of competence (where appropriately qualified and authorised via the Trust NMP register)

To undertake adverse drug reactions reporting where necessary.

To record your clinical activity and to monitor the outcome of your advice.

To monitor interventions in treatment, to identify training and information needs.

To participate in CQUINs and QIPPs pertinent to your area of specialty.

To lead and support on medicines audits.

To implement countywide and local prescribing strategies within the Trust.

To facilitate the expansion of the tools within EPMA.

To support the development and implementations of medicines related guidance, policies and procedures within speciality area.

To fulfil the requirements of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Good Professional Practice.

To implement the Duty of Candour.

Medicines Information and Advice Pharmacist:

To develop specialist skills in the evaluation and provision of medicines related information and advice.

To work in a team alongside pharmacist and technician colleagues, to provide an enquiry answering service offering expert advice to patients and other healthcare professionals.

To train Pharmacy staff and other disciplines to enable them to provide safe, high quality advice on medicines; to be involved in the support and supervision arrangements for staff working in the Medicines Information & Advice service, such as Pharmacists undergoing the Clinical Pharmacy Diploma course and Trainee Pharmacists.

To actively contribute to the development of the Medicines Information and Advice Service.

To work with the wider Pharmacy team to facilitate staff to keep up-to-date with pharmacy practice and therapeutic developments within their areas of specialism.

To provide information and advice to address local medicines issues, e.g. through production of guidelines, policies and bulletins.

To provide support for the Trusts Formulary Medicines process to ensure that the best possible evidence is available for decision-making.

To provide support for the development of county wide shared care agreements for medicines.

To deputise for the Lead Pharmacist, Medicines Information & Advice Service as required.

To promote the reporting of adverse drug reactions to improve the safe use of medicines.

To maintain standards and to monitor the effectiveness of the service.

To help to maintain efficient and effective systems for storing and retrieving information

To ensure that activities are carried out in accordance with the latest UKMI advice.

Education, Training and Supervision

Attend clinical pharmacy team meetings and education/training schemes relevant to post.

To take part in formal and informal training of pharmacy staff and other healthcare professionals.

To be a supervisor on the Clinical Pharmacy Diploma course.

To supervise aspects of pharmacist trainee training.

To line manage and lead those staff allocated, undertaking appraisals, supervision and identification of training and development of their skills and knowledge.

To assist in the induction of staff into the service; to help identify training and development needs.

To provide information to patients, parents and carers on admission, discharge and in outpatient clinics regarding treatment and medication to optimise patient concordance.

To maintain up-to-date clinical knowledge in clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice to ensure a broad base of pharmaceutical knowledge, clinical reasoning and judgement.

To take responsibility for own personal CPD by participating in education and training programmes to improve competence.

To develop specialist expertise in chosen speciality area.

To obtain/maintain prescribing qualification and support speciality clinics and ward rounds as appropriate.

To help provide the training for Technicians enhanced patient counselling skills and Medicines Management Technician training.

Other Duties

To undertake duties elsewhere in the locality, if required.

To undertake on-call duties

To provide a pharmacy service at weekends.

Education, Training and Qualifications

Essential

• MPharm degree.
• Member of GPhC.
• Achieved or working towards Clinical Diploma.
• CPD portfolio.

Desirable

• Member of RPS.
• Working towards RPS faculty recognition
• Has Medicines Information training
• Independent prescribing or willing to work towards Independent Prescribing qualification Knowledge and Experience
• Formal management training

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Post-registration clinical pharmacy experience within hospital, PCN or community including some of the following specialities: Medicine (or medical specialities), Care of the Older Person, Surgery (or surgical specialities), Paediatrics, Medicines Information, Oncology/Haematology, Aseptics (this would normally be achieved over at least a 2 year period.
• Good clinical knowledge.
• Experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Clinical audit / QI Service Improvement or practice research experience

Desirable

• Experience of supporting Directorate Pharmacist or equivalent, to include financial reporting, formulary application, guideline writing
• Awareness of NHS arrangements, commissioners, NICE, Clinical Governance and how they relate to medicines optimisation
• Experience of managing others
• Experience of risk management
• Experience of prescribing within a specialty

Skills

Essential

• Demonstrates a level of clinical reasoning, problem solving and judgement
• Literature searching and critical appraisal of clinical trials evidence
• Numeracy
• Attention to detail
• Good interpersonal / excellent communication of highly complex information to a wide variety of audiences
• Ability to work under pressure
• Ability to work independently and as a member of a multidisciplinary team
• Ability to prioritise
• Ability to delegate
• Ability to manage time effectively and meet deadlines
• Able to influence
• Information appraisal
• IT skills with WORD, Excel, Powerpoint

Desirable

• Advanced IT skills (database, spreadsheets etc)

Key competencies/personal qualities and attributes

Essential

• Both full time and part time candidates should have the ability to work shifts that will cover 7 days of the week as the NHS moves towards 7 day service provision.
• Credibility with senior managers and clinical staff
• Professional manner
• Motivated and enthusiastic
• Innovative
• Willingness to learn and develop personally
• Ability to work in physically and emotionally challenging environment with emotive patient cohort
• Flexible approach to work
• Motivate others
• Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work with each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).