Pharmacists are key members of the patient care team
By Jeena Connor, PharmD, RPh, Pharmacy Director
Methodist Charlton Medical Center
and
Uju Okechukwu, PharmD, RPh, Pharmacy Manager
Methodist Charlton Medical Center
We’re excited about leading the pharmacy department at Methodist Charlton Medical Center, and here’s why. Our pharmacists are becoming more active participants on the patient care team.
Every day, we know that we are contributing to the care and well-being of our patients. Not only do our pharmacists perform critical roles of dispensing, dosing, and monitoring a vast array of medication therapy, they also respond to codes, review patient medication regimens for potential interactions, and round with the care team, providing medication advice and counsel. It’s so fulfilling and truly represents what we envision for our profession within this facility.
Our paths to the hospital pharmacy took different routes, however we both had an interest in health science and knew that as pharmacists, we would be working with other health care professionals in addition to patients. The idea of directly impacting patient care by managing drug therapy was appealing.
We landed at Methodist Charlton after completing one-year, post-graduate pharmacy residencies. Our residency training programs gave us an opportunity to experience what it was like to work in very demanding environments, and definitely prepared us for our jobs at Methodist Charlton.
At Methodist Charlton, we’re looking for experienced hospital pharmacists to join our team. We feel hospital experience is important because the environment demands a broader grasp of pharmacologic clinical knowledge.
The pharmacy department at Methodist Charlton is working toward several goals:
- Becoming more progressive by decentralizing work to the patient care units
- Continuing the tradition of pharmacy leadership by supporting and nurturing others’ growth and success, whether personal or professional
- Expanding our pharmacy tech-check-tech program. The Texas State Board of Pharmacy has granted our pharmacy techs the ability to check each other’s work in certain situations without having a pharmacist check their work.
What would we say to pharmacists considering a position with Methodist Charlton? There is opportunity for clinical growth and advancement. We started out in different roles, but have advanced to our current roles as director and manager of the department. We love the Methodist Charlton family and we love our patients. The environment is friendly and caring. We’re looking for bright, energetic pharmacy professionals who have a passion for patient care as well as drug therapy management. As a member of our pharmacy team, you’ll have a chance to use your medication therapy knowledge with a higher level of critical thinking. You’ll also be educating other health care professionals, making the work more challenging and rewarding.
If you’re ready to put your drive and enthusiasm to work for our patients and our community, then it’s time to choose Methodist Charlton Medical Center. Learn more by visiting Jobs.MethodistHealthSystem.org.
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