Prevalence of pharmacists during trauma resuscitation at level I & II trauma centers: a national survey
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The role of the clinical pharmacist continues to evolve as more pharmacists are being utilized as members of clinical hospital patient management teams. Anecdotal evidence suggests that an emerging role for pharmacists is as part of trauma resuscitation teams, however recent census data has not captured this information. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of pharmacist utilization as trauma resuscitation team members at U.S. Level I and Level II trauma centers. Methods: A nine-item survey was designed and mailed to US trauma centers to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of pharmacist utilization in trauma resuscitations. Results: A total of 52.9% (246) of 465 US trauma centers completed the survey. Almost 25% of the respondents are currently utilizing pharmacists in trauma resuscitations, while an additional 11.4% were considering pharmacist utilization in the future. Duties and responsibilities reported to be performed by pharmacists during trauma resuscitations focused mainly on calculation of medication dosage, medication preparation and utilization as an information resource to other clinicians. Conclusion: Pharmacists are being utilized as members of trauma resuscitation teams. Additional research is indicated to determine if pharmacist participation in trauma resuscitation is an effective utilization of critical resources.
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Research completed at the Department of Physician Assistant. College of Health Professions
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v.4