About the Pharmacy Residency Program: On-call

Responsibilities
An on-call survival guide has been developed to help assist the resident perform routine activities. In an attempt to provide additional support to the second shift, the following activities will be provided by the on-call resident:

1. Code Pager Coverage
   - respond to code pager and provide the required assistance
2. Drug Information
   - provide answers to drug information questions that require in-depth research
3. Pharmacokinetic Coverage
   - provide initial dosing checks for medications requiring therapeutic drug monitoring or the potential for renal/hepatic toxicity
   - provide drug level interpretations
4. Administrative/Operational Support
   - assist in obtaining medications from other area hospitals
   - serve as the second shift "supervisor" and assist in the solution of patient care needs/issues.
   - other administrative/operational procedures that require assistance
5. Other/Miscellaneous

Coverage
The on-call resident shift will be 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM weekdays, and 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM on weekends and holidays. The on call rotation will provide 7 day/week coverage (approximately one shift every 2 weeks).

Areas being serviced include the medical/surgical units, the Children's Center and the oncology units.

It is the responsibility of the resident to arrange for coverage if he/she cannot work the designated on-call shift. The weekend and holiday on-call shifts will be assigned to residents that are staffing on those days. Residents that opt to work extra shifts on weekday evenings will not be allowed be on-call simultaneously.

The resident will be available by pager and will round twice during the shift through each satellite to assist with any issues.

Resident Back-Up
It will be the responsibility of the resident to call the necessary pharmacy staff for additional assistance with a situation not easily resolvable.

- clinical specialists
- administrator on call

Resident Impact
The resident will serve as the in-house clinical specialist during his/her on-call shift. This additional responsibility will:

1. Assist in the resident's development of his/her clinical autonomy.
2. Meet the following residency learning system (RLS) goals:
   a. Take personal responsibility for attaining excellence in one's own ability to provide pharmaceutical care.
   b. Demonstrate ethical conduct in all activities related to pharmacy practice.
   c. Communicate clearly when speaking or writing.
   d. Work harmoniously with others in the health system.
   e. Accept responsibility for accurate evaluation of one's own work.
   f. Manage time effectively to fulfill practice responsibilities.
   g. Conduct direct patient-care activities using a consistent approach that reflects the philosophy of pharmaceutical care and that is performed with the efficiency and depth of experience characteristic of an experienced pharmacist.
   h. Recommend pharmacotherapeutic regimens and corresponding monitoring plans.
   i. Document pharmaceutical care activities appropriately.
   j. Participate in the management of medical emergencies.
   k. Provide concise, applicable, and timely responses to requests for drug information from health care providers and patients.
3. Provide the resident with the experience of being the primary clinical reference.

Evaluation/Feedback
Evaluation will be performed by the resident's facilitator based on combination of staff (pharmacist, nursing and physician) comments and resident activity documentation. Individualized feedback will also be provided to the resident by a clinical specialist assigned to review the on-call signouts.