The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy
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Marketing theory is used to explain how Pharmacy Department managers at a Vancouver-area hospital secured a new ICU pharmacist position in a period of severe fiscal constraint. Market segmentation, target marketing and pull marketing strategy were combined to obtain support for the new position. Improved drug information services for ICU nurses were promoted to Nursing Administration and enhanced pharmacotherapy monitoring was promoted to the two critical care physicians primarily responsible for patient care in the ICU. ⋯ P. of Nursing (the functional officer for Pharmacy), who then promoted the new position to Hospital Administration. A half-time DUR commitment by the ICU pharmacist was offered to Hospital Administration, expanding this already successful service and guaranteeing cost recovery for the new position. Hospital Administration approved the new ICU clinical pharmacist position in a budget which saw other hospital departments lose several positions.
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The Pediatric Critical Care Unit (PCCU) at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario provides a transport service and team (critical care physician, critical care nurse, respiratory therapist) which transports critically ill newborns, infants, and children. The purpose of this study was to identify the medications used during transport and to determine age-related differences. Results of a prospective study of all drugs administered by the transport team to 174 patients during their stabilization and transport from November 1, 1987 through October 31, 1988 are presented. ⋯ The use of different classes of drugs varied with age; anticonvulsants were most frequently administered to children, sedatives and respiratory medications to infants, and antibiotics and miscellaneous medications to newborns. The wide range of medications used may reflect the diversity of diseases causing critical illness which reinforces that transport teams must have access to and knowledge of a variety of medications. The formulary of medications taken by the critical care transport team is included.
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The development of a quality assurance program for a nuclear pharmacy service is described. The program was established to complement and test the extensive quality control procedures in the nuclear pharmacy. ⋯ These results showed that the standards for the established quality control program were being met. It was concluded that the quality assurance program was a useful and practical tool.
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Pharmacy directors of 126 Alberta Hospitals were sent a survey requesting information on their attitudes and hiring practices of residency graduates. Sixty completed surveys were returned for a response rate of 48 percent. Seventy percent of the directors indicated that completion of a residency program was a favourable prerequisite prior to hiring. ⋯ The main reason for directors hiring residency graduates was their comprehensive hospital pharmacy background. The initial starting salary for residents was equivalent to a starting salary for a pharmacist with one to two years of previous hospital experience. A residency certificate was not seen as a requisite for the director's position by the majority of the directors.