Emergency Department/Critical Care/ICU Pharmacist

The emergency department is a bustling place filled with a highly trained staff to assist with recovery from accidental or traumatic injuries. While an emergency room visit is not an ideal situation for patients, staffers work diligently to provide optimal care and the best possible outcome. It is crucial that members of the emergency department team work smoothly. But even the best set of doctors and nurses still lack certain medication expertise, and that’s where the emergency medicine pharmacist comes in.

What Exactly is an Emergency Room/Critical Care/ICU Pharmacist?

The emergency medicine pharmacist (EMP) plays an essential role in the healing of traumatic injuries. They work closely with the emergency department (ED) staff to provide direct bedside care, and they are included in both the drug selection and prescribing processes. They also administer medications and take part in drug therapy monitoring, as well as other important direct patient care practices.

The EMP position goes far beyond just administering medication, however. The EMP provides education to the patient or their caregiver in order to prevent errors, and they help make the transition from the hospital to the home a smooth one. The EMP also works with the ED team to improve hospital medicine procedures, offer ideas on safety and quality improvement, and assist with research or scholarly activities in the ED.

History of the EMP

The established emergency department is a relatively new advancement in the field of medicine. In the 1940s and 1950s, ambulances were often run by policemen or even funeral directors because they had vehicles where people could lie flat. Emergency physicians were typically whatever physician one could find available. The ED was established in order to address the growing need for accidental care in the most efficient and effective manner, and since then, the mortality rate of trauma patients has significantly declined.

As time went on, the ED team grew to include specialized workers with a focus on certain aspects of curing the patient. This was done in order to prevent error, to expand areas of expertise, and to offer better care. The emergency medicine pharmacist was introduced in the 1970s and has become an integral part of the ED. Today, some hospitals staff EMPs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, while others keep them on an as-needed basis.

What’s in Store

The pharmacy is an ever-changing, evolving place. As long as the human body is susceptible to illness, there will be more research, data, and technology in the quest for a cure. The healthcare industry seeks to heal and prevent illnesses, and with modernization comes better education, training, and procedures.

But despite the decline in mortality rates, there’s always room for improvement. The future of the emergency department and the role of the EMP depends on keeping up with innovations and continuing to work on enhancements in the field of medicine. Recent years have shown an increase in EMPs, mainly due to the importance of improving patient care across the country and the growing need for employees who are intensively trained in one area of expertise.

Not only is the field of pharmacy expanding in numbers, but pharmacists themselves are becoming increasingly important as highly skilled team members, especially in emergency clinics. The emergency department can be intense, but it can also be a place of compassion, and every day offers a new adventure from the previous. If this is something that sounds exciting to you, be on the lookout for more EMP job openings in the future.
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