A critical care pharmacist works in an ICU or CCU and is part of the treating team. They suggest medication alternatives, administration protocols, and dosage calculation formulas. Becoming a critical care pharmacist requires an undergraduate degree, graduate degree, state licensure, and special certifications.
A critical care pharmacist is a specialist clinical pharmacist who works as part of the treating team of doctors and nurses in an intensive care unit (ICU) or intensive care unit (CCU). Rather than filling drug orders from a remote pharmacy at a hospital known only by name, a critical care pharmacist works in an intensive care unit with a built-in unit or an adjacent pharmacy. As part of the treating team, a critical care pharmacist is familiar with each patient and with each patient’s diagnoses, prognosis, treatments and – of course – allergies and medications. She frequently suggests medication alternatives, administration protocols, and dosage calculation formulas to the rest of the treatment team. The process to become a critical care pharmacist is time consuming and requires completion of an undergraduate degree, graduate degree, state licensure, and special certifications as a clinical pharmacist.
In the US, the first step to take to become a critical care pharmacist is to commence and satisfactorily complete a bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry or a related field. The pharmaceutical field is very competitive and admission to a pharmacy school emphasizes undergraduate grades, so students should study to obtain the highest possible grades. In the midst of their graduation requirements, most undergraduate students also find themselves studying twice as hard as usual while continuing their undergraduate classes and starting to study for their pharmacy school admissions test, the Admission Test. in Pharmacies (PCAT). As they approach the end of their degree requirements, students begin to apply for admission to schools offering a Doctor of Pharmacy (D. Pharm) degree. Pharmacy school admission is based on a student’s undergraduate grades and PCAT score, among other criteria a school may choose to emphasize.
The second educational challenge to undertake to become a critical care pharmacist is that of pharmacy school. A Doctor of Pharmacy degree generally requires between two and four years to complete, depending on the subjects studied at undergraduate level. At one time, a student could earn a four-year degree in pharmaceutical sciences, but that option has been eliminated with the career’s growing professional status. Along with classes in physiology, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics, students also rotate through outpatient and inpatient clinical interactions with patients.
Upon completion of pharmacy school, a graduate pharmacist must successfully pass a licensing exam in the state or states in which they can practice. Depending on the state and specific health service, a licensed pharmacist may be required to complete study and certification in clinical pharmacology before obtaining a position at a hospital as a clinical pharmacist. Securing this type of position in an intensive care unit, specifically, may require additional certification in cardiology, infectious disease, or another specialty, as provided by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS).
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
