The impact of an emergency medicine clinical pharmacist on nursing satisfaction

Background: In the United States, emergency medicine clinical pharmacists have become more common over the last several decades. Despite being a vital component of the emergency department interdisciplinary team, there is very limited information published regarding the direct impact emergency medicine clinical pharmacists have on other emergency department-based professions. Objective: To determine if the addition of an emergency medicine clinical pharmacist improves nursing satisfaction with pharmacy services. Setting: The study was conducted at a 422-bed urban teaching hospital consisting of approximately 60 emergency medicine nurses. Methods: This was a prospective study that evaluated nursing satisfaction prior to the initiation of an emergency medicine clinical pharmacist and one year after implementation. The survey consisted of 29 questions and was designed to assess three areas of pharmacy: general pharmacy, pharmacy information technology, and emergency medicine clinical pharmacy services. For the majority of questions, a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 representing strongly disagree to 5 representing strongly agree was utilized. Responses for the 5 point Likert scale were further tabulated into either positive or negative responses. All emergency department nurses employed during the study period (September 2015 and 2016) were eligible to participate anonymously. Main outcome measure: The main outcome assessed was the difference in satisfaction scores between study periods. Results: A total of 52 surveys were returned over the course of the study (22 [36.7%] in the pre-intervention group versus 30 [50%] in the post-intervention group). All general pharmacy questions were improved at one year with timely resolution of pharmacy related issues, medication procurement, and satisfaction with pharmacy services achieving statistical significance. Pharmacy information technology questions were significantly improved with respect to satisfaction with the automated medication dispensing system inventory, prevention and resolution of medication stock outs, and ease of medication removal compared to baseline. The perceived impact of emergency medicine clinical pharmacy services in the pre-intervention group was validated after the one-year implementation period. Conclusion: An emergency medicine clinical pharmacist increases nursing satisfaction with central pharmacy and pharmacy technology services and was able to maintain the nurses’ perceived expected role of the clinical pharmacist.