Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Clinical Pharmacist

🎯 Role Definition

This role requires a licensed Clinical Pharmacist to join a multidisciplinary care team and deliver evidence-based medication therapy management across inpatient and ambulatory settings. The ideal candidate conducts clinical rounds, optimizes pharmacotherapy, leads medication safety and quality improvement initiatives, supports antimicrobial stewardship, mentors learners, and partners with providers to improve patient outcomes. This role requires strong clinical judgment, excellent communication, EMR proficiency (Epic or Cerner preferred), and commitment to continuous process improvement.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

New graduate PharmD with PGY-1 residency or 0–2 years hospital/clinic pharmacy experience
Pharmacy staff pharmacist with clinical rotation experience in acute care
Ambulatory care pharmacist or medication therapy management pharmacist transitioning to clinical focus

Advancement To:

Senior Clinical Pharmacist / Clinical Team Lead
Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator or Clinical Specialist (e.g., Infectious Diseases, Oncology, Critical Care)
Pharmacy Manager or Director of Clinical Services

Lateral Moves:

Ambulatory Care Pharmacist
Medication Safety Officer / Quality Improvement Pharmacist
Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Conduct daily interdisciplinary clinical rounds for assigned service lines (medicine, surgery, critical care, oncology, pediatrics) to provide direct patient-centered pharmacotherapy recommendations that optimize safety and outcomes.
Perform prospective order review and verification for medication orders, identifying and resolving drug interactions, allergies, dose errors, duplications, and renal/hepatic adjustments prior to administration.
Lead medication reconciliation at admission, transfer, and discharge to reduce discrepancies, ensure continuity of care, and provide clear medication lists for patients and outpatient providers.
Manage pharmacokinetic dosing and monitoring for high-risk drugs (vancomycin, aminoglycosides, anticoagulants, TPN, immunosuppressants), including drawing and interpreting levels and adjusting regimens.
Provide comprehensive patient counseling and education on medication indications, dosing schedules, adverse effects, monitoring parameters, adherence strategies, and safe administration.
Develop, implement, and update evidence-based clinical protocols, order sets, dosing guidelines, and therapeutic pathways in the EMR to standardize practice and improve outcomes.
Serve as an active member of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program: review antibiotic utilization, recommend de-escalation, adjust doses for organ function, and track stewardship metrics.
Collaborate with prescribers under collaborative practice agreements or prescriptive authority to initiate, modify, or discontinue medications within defined protocols (anticoagulation, diabetes, heart failure, hypertension).
Provide clinical pharmacy services in ambulatory clinics, including chronic disease management, medication therapy management (MTM), prior authorization support, and formulary navigation.
Participate in chemotherapy and hazardous drug order verification, including review of dosing, regimen appropriateness, supportive care, and adherence to oncology safety protocols.
Oversee sterile and non-sterile compounding operations: ensure compliance with USP <797>/<800>, perform verification, and support pharmacy technicians and compounding staff.
Conduct drug utilization reviews and formulary management activities, evaluating cost-effectiveness, therapeutic alternatives, and making formulary recommendations to the P&T committee.
Investigate and report adverse drug events (ADEs), medication errors, and near misses; lead root cause analyses and corrective action plans to reduce recurrence.
Train, precept, and mentor pharmacy students, residents (PGY1/PGY2), and new clinical pharmacists; develop educational activities and competency assessments.
Provide transitions-of-care services, including discharge medication counseling, outpatient follow-up recommendations, and communication with community pharmacies and primary care.
Lead or contribute to quality improvement and patient safety projects (e.g., reducing readmissions, improving vaccination rates, optimizing opioid stewardship) using PDSA and Lean methodologies.
Maintain up-to-date clinical knowledge, participate in continuing education, and present evidence summaries or journal club reviews to clinical teams.
Support medication shortage management: identify therapeutic alternatives, update clinical guidance, and ensure equitable allocation during constrained supply.
Participate in Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) and other clinical committees, prepare drug monographs, and present clinical and formulary data to stakeholders.
Ensure regulatory and accreditation compliance (Joint Commission, state board of pharmacy), including maintenance of controlled substance procedures, documentation, and reporting.
Optimize EMR clinical decision support tools (alerts, order sets, dosing calculators) and collaborate with informatics teams to reduce alert fatigue while improving safety.
Provide consultation on complex pharmacotherapy issues (renal replacement therapy drug dosing, pharmacogenomics considerations, drug–drug interactions in polypharmacy).
Support hospital emergency preparedness and disaster response plans related to medication distribution, mass vaccination, and scarce resource allocation.

Secondary Functions

Support clinical research activities and investigational drug services, ensuring protocol compliance, randomization documentation, and drug accountability.
Assist with ambulatory care billing, documentation for MTM reimbursement, and capture of clinical outcomes for value-based care programs.
Participate in outreach and education programs to improve community health literacy and medication adherence.
Serve as a pharmacy representative in multidisciplinary case reviews, morbidity and mortality conferences, and utilization review meetings.
Contribute to pharmacy staffing plans, scheduling, and cross-training efforts to ensure clinical coverage across units.
Support medication formulary transitions, commercial-to-generic conversions, and product standardization initiatives.
Help develop onboarding and ongoing competency training for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians related to clinical services.
Assist in monitoring and reporting departmental performance metrics (medication error rates, stewardship outcomes, turnaround times).
Act as a subject matter expert for pharmacy policy updates and assist in the drafting and revision of standard operating procedures.
Provide weekend and on-call clinical coverage as required to maintain continuity of pharmacy clinical services.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

PharmD degree and active state pharmacist license; BCPS, BCACP, BCCCP, or other specialty board certification preferred.
Strong clinical knowledge in internal medicine, critical care, oncology, infectious disease, and chronic disease management.
Proficient in electronic medical record systems (Epic, Cerner, Meditech) with experience building/modifying order sets and CDS.
Expertise in pharmacokinetics and therapeutic drug monitoring (vancomycin, aminoglycosides, anticoagulants).
Experience with antimicrobial stewardship principles, antibiotic de-escalation, and resistance trend analysis.
Knowledge of sterile compounding standards (USP <797>/<800>), chemotherapy verification, and hazardous drug handling.
Competence in medication reconciliation processes and transitions-of-care workflows.
Ability to perform drug utilization reviews, formulary analysis, and prepare P&T committee drug monographs.
Familiarity with billing/documentation for MTM, ambulatory care services, and value-based metrics.
Skilled in quality improvement methodologies (PDSA, Lean, Six Sigma basics) and data-driven project management.
Experience supervising and precepting pharmacy students/residents and creating educational content.
Knowledge of state and federal pharmacy regulations, controlled substance handling, and accreditation standards.

Soft Skills

Excellent clinical judgment and problem-solving under time-sensitive conditions.
Strong verbal and written communication; effective at presenting complex medication information to clinicians and patients.
Collaborative team player who builds trust with physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals.
Attention to detail and strong organizational skills for high-volume, safety-critical work.
Patient-centered mindset with empathy, cultural competence, and motivational interviewing skills.
Leadership and mentoring skills to develop staff and lead cross-functional initiatives.
Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced clinical environments with changing priorities.
Analytical mindset with ability to interpret clinical data, extract insights, and drive process improvements.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from an accredited program
Active, unrestricted pharmacist license in the practicing state

Preferred Education:

PGY-1 residency; PGY-2 specialized residency (critical care, infectious diseases, oncology, ambulatory care) preferred
Board certification (BCPS, BCACP, BCCCP, BCOP, or equivalent)

Relevant Fields of Study:

Pharmacy (PharmD)
Clinical Pharmacotherapy
Pharmacology
Public Health / Healthcare Quality (beneficial for QI roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 0–5 years clinical experience for entry/early-career roles; 3–7+ years for specialized or supervisory positions.

Preferred:

1–3 years hospital or acute care clinical pharmacy experience for general Clinical Pharmacist roles.
2+ years in a specialty area (ID, ICU, oncology, ambulatory care) for specialist positions.
Prior experience with Epic/Cerner order sets, stewardship programs, and precepting trainees is highly desirable.