Increasing Hospital Pharmacist Clinical Competence in Intensive Pharmacotherapeutics Using a Novel Pharmacist Clinical Educational Program

Abstract

Background Intensive pharmacotherapeutics (IP) is the application of multiple evidence-based practices applied at a patient-specific level, creating the overall best treatment plan in medically complex patients. To practice at this level, a high level of clinical knowledge and competency is paramount. Objective The goal of the pharmacist clinical educational program was to develop an engaging, challenging, and interactive program, which was concise but intense, to improve pharmacists’ clinical knowledge and critical thinking skills. Methods A 12-week educational series was developed and successfully implemented. The primary outcome was a comparison of the proportion of accepted clinical interventions per total number of medication orders reviewed by hospital pharmacists during and after the pharmacist clinical educational program to a 3-month baseline. The secondary outcome was to anonymously gauge participant satisfaction with the program. Results The proportion of accepted clinical interventions increased from 6.4% (at baseline) to 9.1% and 8.7% in the 3 months during and 3 months immediately after the educational program, respectively ( P < .01). The overall acceptance rate for clinical interventions remained >90% for all periods. Approximately 94% of respondents ( n = 16) indicated that the program met their educational needs. Conclusions The development of a clinical educational program to engage, challenge, and incentivize pharmacists is an essential tool to elevate the practice of IP. By maximizing existing resources, programming can be provided in an efficient and cost-effective manner. As health systems continue to merge on a national level, the methods described here demonstrate a means to provide critical education for both clinical and organizational competency.