Stepwise Development and Yearlong Assessment of a Pharmacist-Driven Molecular Rapid Diagnostic Test Result Service for Bloodstream Infections.

PURPOSE: Provide a stepwise approach to the design and implementation of a service that integrates all staff pharmacists into the communication and interpretation of molecular rapid diagnostic tests (mRDT) for bloodstream infections and summarize outcomes from a 12-month post-implementation assessment. Physician and pharmacist impressions of the service are also described. SUMMARY: mRDT have proven clinical benefit in the treatment of bacteremia. Pharmacy leadership can collaborate with other health system leaders to develop policies and a workflow that route result calls to pharmacists to maximize the impact of this technology. Pharmacist education, development of clinical resources and documentation templates allow all pharmacists to perform this antimicrobial stewardship service consistently and confidently. Physicians overwhelmingly recognize the value of this service and often accept the pharmacist's recommendations. Antibiotic de-escalation was the most frequent outcome when changes to the antibiotic regimen were made. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists are well positioned to utilize results from mRDT to improve antibiotic selection. Through the use of competencies and internally-derived resources, all pharmacists, rather than just infectious diseases pharmacy specialists, can perform this important antibiotic stewardship activity and positively influence patient outcomes.

Design and short-term impact of an event to promote careers in clinical pharmacy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is a role for local pharmacy organizations to promote clinical pharmacy and increase awareness to both potential and current pharmacy students. The Greater Milwaukee College of Clinical Pharmacy (GMCCP) chapter sought to promote clinical pharmacy amongst current and prospective pharmacy students to increase the knowledge, awareness, and interest in clinical pharmacy. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Subcommittee members designed programming to introduce the basics of clinical pharmacy. Students from three schools of pharmacy and more than 40 colleges in the region were invited to the event. Didactic and discussion-based content was developed. Pharmacists from GMCCP were solicited as presenters, along with a current pharmacy student and resident. Participants were asked to complete pre-event and post-event surveys to assess their awareness of and interest in clinical pharmacy. Volunteer pharmacists were also surveyed after the event. FINDINGS: Twenty-eight individuals attended the event. Nineteen students completed both the pre- and post-survey. The comparison between median score pre- and post-event was analyzed with the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test. Students' awareness and knowledge of clinical pharmacy improved after attending the event. Students' interest in a career in clinical pharmacy also increased after attending the event. Nine of the thirteen volunteer breakout session pharmacists (69%) responded to the post-event survey. The majority strongly agreed that participants were interested in learning about their area of practice and asked meaningful questions appropriate for their area of practice. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The Exploring Careers in Clinical Pharmacy event increased awareness of clinical pharmacy career choices available within the profession of pharmacy. Local, regional, and national pharmacy organizations may consider utilizing the diverse talent of their membership and collaborate with colleges of pharmacy or other organizations to impact the knowledge, awareness, and interest in clinical pharmacy as a future career choice for pre-pharmacy and current pharmacy students.

Strategies that facilitated expansion of a postgraduate year 1 pharmacy residency program across a community hospital-based health system.

PURPOSE: Seven strategies used to expand an existing postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) pharmacy residency program and launch 3 new PGY1 residency programs in a multisite community hospital-based health system are described. SUMMARY: The vision of ASHP and other pharmacy organizations of providing advanced training (e.g., residency training) to all pharmacists who plan to be involved in direct patient care has not yet been realized, and the capacity to provide such training has not kept pace with the demand. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare (WFH) leaders expanded PGY1 residency training and recognized 7 strategies that enabled program growth at multiple sites within the healthcare system. WFH pharmacy leaders were charged to (1) take a bold approach to expansion of residency training, (2) place the residency program at the center of pharmacy department operations, (3) develop teams of high-performing preceptors, (4) partner with schools of pharmacy, (5) initiate rotations at other facilities within the healthcare system, (6) elevate resident ownership of and engagement in the residency program, and (7) enhance communication and collaboration across the program. As a result of these strategies, a single residency program with 2 residents was expanded in a 4-year time frame to encompass 4 programs with a total of 14 residents. CONCLUSION: Seven strategies facilitated the expansion of 1 pharmacy residency program and the successful launch of 3 new PGY1 residency programs across the WFH system. These strategies provide a basic framework for both residency training expansion and clinical service development.