Project Manager, Med Safety Board

WHY CHOOSE ISMP?

ISMP is an inspiring place to work. We share a common mission to help healthcare organizations make smart, compassionate, and ethical decisions for patients. Consider these additional benefits of joining the ISMP team:

• Industry leadership: We have a long history and proven reputation in patient safety and medical technology research.
• On-the-job-learning: You will have the opportunity to work with specialists across medical science, patient care, healthcare management, and technology.
• Comprehensive healthcare benefits: We offer medical, dental, vision, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, and disability coverage.
• Retirement Savings: Our employees can participate in an employer-matching 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan.
• Additional benefits: ECRI offers additional benefits to our employees, including paid time off and holiday pay, paid leave for parents, tuition assistance, employee assistance program, access to LinkedIn Learning, and other voluntary benefit programs (e.g. accident insurance, identify theft insurance, flexible spending accounts).

ABOUT ISMP

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is the only 501c (3) nonprofit organization devoted entirely to preventing medication errors. During its more than 25-year history, ISMP has helped make a difference in the lives of millions of patients and the healthcare professionals who care for them.

ISMP is known and respected as the gold standard for medication safety information. It also has served as a vital force for progress. ISMP’s advocacy work alone has resulted in numerous necessary changes in clinical practice, public policy, and drug labeling and packaging.

Among its many initiatives, ISMP runs the only national voluntary practitioner medication error reporting program, publishes newsletters with real-time error information read and trusted throughout the global healthcare community, and offers a wide range of unique educational programs, tools, and guidelines.

In 2020, ISMP formally affiliated with ECRI to create one of the largest healthcare quality and safety entities in the world. The affiliation allows both organizations to work more closely together for the benefit of providers, patient advocates, governments, and most importantly, patients.

From the affiliation, a new Patient Safety Organization took form: ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices PSO. The launch of the new PSO created a single source for safety that harnesses the unprecedented expertise of each organization. Together, ISMP and ECRI bring up-to-date information and real-time guidance to assure healthcare leaders across the continuum of care that they are making the best decisions to keep patients safe.

As an independent watchdog organization, ISMP receives no advertising revenue and depends entirely on charitable donations, educational grants, newsletter subscriptions, and volunteer efforts to pursue its life-saving work.

POSITION SUMMARY 

The Medication Safety Specialist is a subject matter expert (SME) on medication use processes and safe medication practices. This individual will participate in membership activities, consulting activities, collaboratives, organizational programs, educational programs, data analysis, advocacy efforts and other special projects related to community and specialty pharmacy practice. This individual will also author, co-author and edit ISMP newsletter content, research and grant proposals, medication safety projects, safety tools, and resources, including ISMP guidelines, self-assessments, and best practice statements and participate in analyzing error reports submitted to the medication, vaccine, and consumer error reporting programs and events submitted to the ECRI and ISMP Patient Safety Organization (PSO). 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS 

Reasonable Accommodation Statement:
To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential function satisfactory. Reasonable accommodations may be made to help enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Essential Functions Statement(s):

• Subject Matter Expert (SME) in community and specialty pharmacy  
  • SME on medication use processes and safe medication practices.
  • Participate in membership activities, consulting activities, collaboratives, organizational programs, educational programs, data analysis, advocacy efforts and other special projects.
  • Author, contribute or edit content for ISMP newsletter publications, research and grant proposals, medication safety projects, safety tools, and resources, including ISMP guidelines, self-assessments, and best practice statements.
  • Provide advice and guidance to healthcare practitioners, consumers, ISMP Fellows, residents, and students. 
• Error reporting programs and the ECRI and ISMP Patient Safety Organization
  • Review and analyze confidential reports of hazardous conditions and medication errors, including close calls, submitted to the ISMP National Medication Errors Reporting Programs (ISMP MERP, ISMP VERP, ISMP CMERP) by healthcare practitioners and consumers and the ECRI and ISMP Patient Safety Organization. Interact with community and specialty pharmacy members/reporters as warranted. 
  • Identify the causes of medication errors.
  • Establish ISMP’s responses and recommendations and action agenda to prevent or mitigate medication errors in collaboration with ISMP professional staff.
• Collaboratives, summits, consultations and other projects 
  • Participate in collaboratives and summits. 
  • Participate in prospective risk assessment, targeted risk assessment or PSO consultation engagements, identify strategic risk-mitigation initiatives and contribute to the writing or editing of the final written report.
  • Coordinate the development, review, and editing of new or revised safety tools and resources, including ISMP guidelines, self-assessments, and best practice statements, including:
    • involvement in gathering pertinent background research and information
    • drafting and/or editing content based on recommended medication safety practices 
• Education
  • Create and deliver public speaking engagements on various medication safety-related topics for retail and specialty pharmacy practices.  
  • Provide advice and guidance to healthcare practitioners and consumers.
  • Mentor new employees, ISMP Fellows, students, residents and international guests.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Other duties, as assigned.