• Zlatan Coralic, Hemal K Kanzaria, Lisa Bero, and John Stein.
• University of California San Francisco, Department of Emergency Medicine, San Francisco, California ; University of California San Francisco, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, San Francisco, California.
• West J Emerg Med. 2014 Mar 1;15(2):205-10.

IntroductionEmergency department clinical pharmacists (EPh) serve a relatively new clinical role in emergency medicine. New EPh may still face barriers prior to working in the emergency department (ED), including staff acceptance. We aimed to assess staff perceptions of a university hospital EPh program 1 year after implementation.MethodsWe sent an electronic survey consisting of 7 multiple-choice questions, 17 5-point Likert-scale questions, and 1 free-text comment section to ED providers and nurses. The qualitatively validated survey assessed staff's general perceptions of the EPh and their clinical work.ResultsWe received responses from 14 attending physicians, 34 emergency medicine residents, 5 mid-level providers, and 51 nurses (80% response rate). Overall, the ED staff strongly supported the presence of an EPh. All of the respondents consulted the EPh at least once in their previous 5 ED shifts. Most respondents (81%) felt the EPh's availability for general consultation and aid during resuscitations served as the major contribution to medication and patient safety. The participants also expressed that they were more likely to consult a pharmacist when they were located in the ED, as opposed to having to call the main pharmacy.ConclusionThe EPh model of practice at our institution provides valuable perceived benefit to ED providers.

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