title: A Survey of Staff Perceptions of an Emergency Medicine Pharmacist Program in a Community Hospital: A Brief Report.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  For an emergency medicine pharmacist to become a well-integrated multidisciplinary team member, his or her services need to be accepted by the emergency department (ED) staff. There have been 2 published studies attesting the value of the emergency medicine pharmacist by ED staff: at an academic medical and trauma center in 2007 and a large academic medical center in 2011. The aim of this study is to determine whether the emergency medicine pharmacist's value, as perceived by ED staff, would be similarly accepted at a smaller community hospital with limited clinical pharmacist services.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective, descriptive survey examined the perceptions of ED providers and nurses in regard to the emergency medicine pharmacist at a 26-bed Level II trauma center with 65,135 annual visits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 90 participants polled, 50% (45) responded. Overall, the ED staff's perceptions of an emergency medicine pharmacist were positive. Eighty-six percent of all participants surveyed had consulted the emergency medicine pharmacist at least once in their last 5 shifts. Thirty-one percent answered that being available for consultation was the most important aspect of the emergency medicine pharmacist's role, whereas attending codes (22%) and patient education (20%) were the next most important activities. Providers consulted with the emergency medicine pharmacist most for antibiotic stewardship (including guided empiric therapy and culture callbacks) drug-drug and drug-disease state interactions, and dosing of pediatric medications. Nurses referred to the emergency medicine pharmacist most for compatibility consultations, medication retrieval, and high-risk medication verification.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As was previously found in academic settings, an emergency medicine pharmacist is an invaluable addition to the health care team and can be incorporated into an existing pharmacy staffing model at a small, community hospital.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, MacNeal Hospital, Berwyn, IL. Electronic address: jsplawsk@macneal.com.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Splawski
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Tenet Healthcare, Berwyn, IL.
authors.forename: Deanna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Horner
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, MacNeal Hospital, Berwyn, IL; CEP America, Berwyn, IL.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tao
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000078329:Workforce