Department of Pharmacy Policies & Procedures

Number: 2:00

Effective Date: May, 1990

Revisions: 9/94; 9/99; 4/05; 5/09

Approval: 9/30/99

Subject: GENERAL PERSONNEL POLICIES

 

A. POLICY

  1. The Hospital Pharmacy is a professional component of the University Hospital. Its major responsibilities are to provide pharmacy services and to support and provide drug information to professionals and para-professionals that are involved in patient care.
  2. Each pharmacy staff member is important in the successful achievement of the departmental responsibilities. Courtesy, honesty and dedication in the performance of all duties and tasks are essential in establishing and maintaining a good rapport with other hospital personnel. Each pharmacy member is a representative of the department and their actions reflect directly upon themselves and the hospital pharmacy.

B. PERSONNEL POLICIES

  1. Employees of the hospital pharmacy are governed by and are guided by the policies set forth in the latest revision of the UAMS Employee Handbook and the Hospital Policy Manual.
  2. Specific personnel policies are established within the department. Such policies focus on matters of employee/employer relations that have a direct effect on the conduct of hospital pharmacy activities.

C. EMPLOYEE LICENSURE

  1. Pharmacists must be licensed in the State of Arkansas. Their license must be current at the time of hire and through out their employment. Graduated pharmacy students must have a current Arkansas "Pharmacy Intern Registration" upon hire and maintain this registration until fully licensed. Upon successfully passing the State Board of Pharmacy exam, the graduated Pharmacy Intern may perform staff pharmacist duties.
  2. Pharmacists licensed in other states who are in the process of reciprocating their license must have a temporary pharmacist permit issued by a member of the State Board of Pharmacy in order to be eligible for hire.
  3. All personnel hired as pharmacy technicians will be registered with the State Board of Pharmacy as a Pharmacy Technician by the pharmacy. The registration fee and subsequent annual renewal fees will be paid by the pharmacy department.
  4. Pharmacist license and technician registration renewals and current Pharmacy Intern Registrations will be prominently displayed in the pharmacy.
  5. A verification of licenses and registrations will be performed directly with the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy upon hiring and at the time of renewal of licenses.  Verification of renewals will occur during the first two weeks of February of the renewal year.
  6. All licenses must be renewed by February 15 of the renewal year, with the renewal in place in the pharmacy or the pharmacist will be suspended without pay until such time as the renewal certificate is available.
  7. All in-patient pharmacists will maintain certification in Basic Life Support Course C, as outlined by the American Heart Association and will be oriented on the pharmacy role on the Code Blue Team.
  8. All pharmacists will be oriented to basic procedures in preparing compounded sterile preparations (CSPs) in the horizontal and vertical air flow hoods and will be checked and certified by the quality assurance pharmacist/or designee before they are allowed to prepare CSPs unassisted or unobserved. All technicians who work with syringes or compound CSPs in the IV preparation area will pass the UAMS IV Additive Training Program.