Pharmacist career ladder with clinical privilege categories

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Healthcare Administration
• Professional Development

Background:

• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) policy mandated clinical privileges for pharmacists with patient contact.
• Existing VA privilege categories offered increasing autonomy.
• Pharmacy departments faced challenges in implementing clinical activities, including inadequate training and subjective competence measures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and implementation of a career ladder program for staff pharmacists.
• To address challenges in integrating clinical activities and professional development.
• To enhance consistency of pharmacy services and practitioner skills.

Main Methods:

• A pharmacy credentialing committee created a three-level career ladder aligned with VA clinical privilege categories.
• The ladder incorporated increasing levels of clinical skills, from basic knowledge to specialty practice.
• Objective skill assessments, designated instructors, and improved staff development were implemented.

Main Results:

• A matrix of nine advancement options was formed by combining career ladder levels and clinical privilege categories.
• Pharmacist advancement required mastery of skills and documentation, with a 2% pay increase per level.
• Fifty-three percent of staff pharmacists participated, showing a positive impact on staff retention.

Conclusions:

• Combining a career ladder with clinical privileges created a structured advancement pathway.
• This integrated approach improved the consistency of pharmacy services.
• The program fostered the development of clinical practitioners and positively influenced staff retention.