PHARMACIST
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Department: Pharmacy Department
Reporting To: Chief Pharmacist / Pharmacy Director
Job Purpose:
To ensure the safe, effective, and rational use of medications by providing comprehensive clinical pharmacy services, verifying and dispensing prescriptions accurately, and offering expert drug information to healthcare professionals and patients. The Pharmacist upholds the highest standards of patient care in compliance with the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention (MOHAP), Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DOH), and other relevant regulatory guidelines.
Key Responsibilities:
Clinical & Patient Care:
- Conduct clinical rounds with medical teams to provide drug therapy recommendations, monitor patient responses, and identify/prevent/resolve medication-related problems.
- Perform medication reconciliation upon admission, transfer, and discharge to ensure accuracy and continuity of care.
- Review medication orders for appropriateness (dose, route, frequency, drug interactions, allergies, therapeutic duplication) prior to dispensing.
- Provide specialized pharmacokinetic monitoring for drugs with narrow therapeutic indices (e.g., vancomycin, aminoglycosides, anticoagulants).
- Offer in-depth medication counseling to patients and caregivers, ensuring understanding of drug purpose, usage, side effects, and storage.
- Participate in antimicrobial stewardship programs and oncology/parenteral nutrition protocols as required.
Dispensing & Verification:
- Accurately verify and dispense inpatient, outpatient, and discharge prescriptions with absolute precision.
- Supervise and verify the work of Pharmacy Technicians in drug preparation and labeling.
- Manage controlled substances in strict accordance with UAE federal laws and institutional policies, maintaining impeccable records.
Regulatory & Quality Assurance:
- Ensure full compliance with DOH Abu Dhabi, MOHAP, and JCI (if applicable) standards for medication management and pharmacy practice.
- Maintain accurate and confidential patient medication records within the hospital's electronic health record (EHR) system (e.g., Cerner, Epic).
- Participate in pharmacy quality improvement initiatives, medication safety audits, and risk management activities.
- Report and document medication errors and adverse drug reactions through the institutional safety reporting system.
Education & Collaboration:
- Serve as a drug information resource for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare staff.
- Precept and train pharmacy interns, students, and new staff members.
- Participate in departmental meetings, in-service education, and patient wellness programs (e.g., diabetes, asthma management).
Inventory & Procurement:
- Assist in inventory management, including the identification of shortages, oversight of high-cost medications, and participation in formulary management.
Qualifications & Requirements:
- Education: Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (B.Sc. Pharm) or Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) from an accredited institution.
- Licensure: Mandatory. Valid UAE Pharmacist License from the DOH Abu Dhabi and MOHAP. Eligibility letter / passing the prometric exam is a prerequisite for licensing.
- Experience: Minimum of 2-3 years of post-licensure experience in a hospital setting is strongly preferred. Fresh graduates with relevant internships may be considered for some positions.
- Skills:
- Expert knowledge of pharmacology, therapeutics, and UAE pharmacy law.
- Proficiency in English is essential; Arabic is a significant advantage.
- Strong clinical judgment, critical thinking, and patient communication skills.
- High degree of accuracy, attention to detail, and professionalism.
- Competence in using pharmacy information systems and EHRs.
