Director, Investigational Drug Section

START Center for Cancer Research•Village of Lake Success, NY

2d•$175,000 - $195,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Investigational Drug Section oversees all components of investigational drug services (IDS) operations at the assigned site and performs the duties of a clinical pharmacist. The role is responsible for medication order verification, dispensing, and documentation for investigational drugs, conventional chemotherapy, and supportive care medications. It may also include patient interviews, maintaining current medication lists, patient medication education, and providing drug information to patients and the healthcare team. The pharmacist practices with a high degree of autonomy, guided by IDS standard operating procedures and quality assurance verification guidelines. The director supervises staff involved in medication preparation, dispensing, and IDS operations in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. The position directly supervises all site-specific pharmacy team members, including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This is an on-site role in New Hyde Park, New York, scheduled 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Requirements

Graduate of an ACPE-accredited School of Pharmacy.
Current state pharmacist license.
Previous hospital or clinic pharmacy experience.
Familiarity with sterile compounding requirements for chemotherapy agents, USP <797> and USP <800>, laminar airflow hoods, and biological safety cabinets.
Familiarity with telephone, copier, scanner, and facsimile machine.
Computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.
Familiarity with electronic medical record programs, pharmacy software programs, and study IRT systems.
Knowledge of Good Clinical Practice (GCP) principles.
Sterile compounding and chemotherapy certification.
Intravenous sterile product training.
Prior experience in clinical trials and management of investigational drugs.
Ability to spend 80% of work time standing and/or walking.
Ability to lift up to 25 pounds and perform some lifting, bending, pushing, and/or pulling.

Nice To Haves

Specialty residency in oncology.
Current BPS Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist (BCOP) certification.

Responsibilities

Partner with the Director of Nursing and study operations leader to maintain efficient, high-quality patient care.
Collaborate with site leadership, shared services leaders, and integration team members to align workflows and processes.
Ensure IDS space meets local and federal expectations and that operations comply with applicable internal SOPs.
Verify medication orders, including dosage and calculation accuracy, basic patient eligibility criteria, consent documentation, laboratory values, required tests, resolution of prior chemotherapy toxicity, and absence of serious known drug interactions.
Oversee medication preparation and dispensing from the IDS, including supervising certified pharmacy technicians preparing IV admixtures and oral medications and ensuring completion of double-check verification before release.
Provide pharmaceutical care, including patient medication and supportive care counseling and drug information to patients and the healthcare team.
Oversee drug inventories and associated documentation, usage projections, ordering, receiving, storage, and dispensing records for Phase I and conventional medications.
Assist pharmacy technicians with investigational documentation, records, weekly inventory, and interactions with study personnel.
Review new protocols, protocol amendments, and associated forms.
Maintain and generate reports using the IDS drug accountability program.
Contribute to effective pharmacy department operations.
Enter accurate medication orders in the computer system and maintain accurate reported home medications in the EMR.
Directly supervise site-specific pharmacy team members, including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.