Job Description

Nemours is seeking a Medication Safety Officer to join our Nemours Children's Health team in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Pediatric Medication Safety Program Officer (MSO) reviews, coordinates, administers, and implements medication safety initiatives. The MSO oversees adverse drug event reporting activities and assists in the administration, supervision, and consolidation of medication safety initiatives. The MSO serves as a resource to risk management, safety, pharmacy, quality, and departments on matters of medication safety and regulatory compliance. The MSO actively participates in outstanding customer service and accepts responsibility in maintaining relationships that are equally respectful to all.

The MSO is a primary contributor to the culture of medication and patient safety, by advocating for the reduction of errors associated with the medication use process at Nemours Children's Hospital. The pediatric MSO is an organizational subject matter expert in all aspects of medication safety; including responsibility for guiding and monitoring the design, implementation and maintenance of safe, standardized medication systems that remain in compliance with ECRI/ISMP, ASHP, AHRQ and other safety organizations by working collaboratively with all members of the healthcare team including our patient's families.

• Acts as the primary internal liaison consultant to continually improve the safety of medication use processes.
  • Serves as a resource for clinical departments/disciplines for medication safety issues.
  • Assist in efforts to ensure compliance with the Joint Commission, FDA, USP, CMS, Board of Pharmacy regulatory standards and standard setting agencies as they relate to safe medication use practices.
  • Coordinates the spread of medication safety practices to ensure they are implemented across the organization and documents effectiveness of those practices in reducing medication events.
  • Develops strategies to minimize the potential for medication errors associated with medication labeling, packaging, nomenclature, storage, standardization, preparation, distribution, dispensing, and administration.
• Acts an internal resource for introducing trends, practices, and alerts from the internal and external environments.
  • Collects, reviews, and evaluates medication event data for identification of trends and areas for improvement and reviews all medication events ensuring accurate data.
  • Provides medication safety alerts to Nemours Children's Health
  • Assures practice is reviewed in response to any such alerts and works to bridge identified gaps.
  • Regularly reviews external literature as it relates to medication use safety bringing it forth for discussion in appropriate forums.
• Interacts with and is a liaison to external organizations (ISMP/ECRI, CHA, SPS) as a content expert in medication safety.
• Identifies opportunities for proactive change in the medication use-system to improve patient safety utilizing medication event-reporting data, published best practice standards, and published events or recommendations. Reviews high volume, high risk, and problem prone or critical aspects of care processes for prioritization of potential medication safety improvements.
  • Responsible for the development and execution of a strategic medication safety plan in both the short term and long term.
  • Leads the review and evaluation of significant medication variances and recommends process/system changes. In collaboration with the risk management, quality, safety and the pertinent healthcare providers, to formulate a plan to address the suggestions for change resulting from root-cause analyses. Follows up to assure plan is implemented and the intended outcome to reduce risk of future occurrences is achieved. Leads failure mode effects analysis on medication use systems, as necessary.
• Advises and supports the Medication Safety Committees
  • Assists in providing the data and subsequent prioritization of Medication Safety goals and meetings.
  • Advises on the incorporation of human factors engineering and behaviors for error prevention into medication related policies, procedures, and tools, communicates best practices regarding effective medication safety strategies.
  • Support all pharmacy and therapeutic meetings for ambulatory sites.
• Provides leadership for Cause Analysis for medication related events.
  • Facilitates medication related Root Cause Analyses (RCA), Apparent Causes Analysis (ACA) and collaborates with leaders to assure that improvement actions are completed.
  • Facilitates and/or coaches' leaders on how to conduct proactive risk analyses related to medication use.
  • In partnership with the Medication Safety Committee, conducts ongoing regular analyses of identified areas for improvement to identify the priorities for medication safety. Proposes action when the data demonstrates a need for such improvement.
• Advises on, develops, and provides education and training activities to support safe medication use at Nemours Children's Health
  • Formulates educational sessions based upon the reports in the literature, responses to corrective action plans and recommendations from committee activities.
  • Communicate, Educate, and raise awareness for clinical staff to promote safe medication practices. Educates providers and associates on the system-based causes for medication errors.
  • Medication Usage/Safety policy development, revision, regulatory compliance assurance
  • Supports involving patients and caregivers in the medication safety process as active and equal partners.
• Performs all other related duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Job Requirements

• PharmD Degree or equivalent required.
• Pharmacy residency required.
• Minimum of five (5) + years of healthcare experience in pharmacy practice with focus on medication safety, compliance, or process improvement required. (Residency (PGY1 and/or PGY2) counts as a maximum of 3 years work experience).
• State of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Pharmacist Licensure required upon hire and must be in good standing with state board of pharmacy.
• Training in pediatrics preferred or medication safety preferred.
• Lean/Six Sigma Experience preferred, demonstrated ability to identify issues, define problems, facilitate teams and measure for success and sustainability.
• Board Certified Pediatric Pharmacy Specialist (BCPPS) preferred.

Within 2 years of hire, must obtain the following:

• Medication Safety Certification by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP)
• Institute for Safe Medicine Practices (ISMP) Medication Safety Intensive
• Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) or Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ)

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