A pharmacist at a critical access hospital checks medication orders and runs the pharmacy, often as the pharmacist in charge on its state license. They also watch controlled substances for signs of diversion. They oversee IV compounding and the technician, and take dose questions from ER nurses and providers.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
We're hiring a pharmacist to run our hospital pharmacy, often as the pharmacist in charge named on the pharmacy license. You'll verify medication orders, supervise the pharmacy technician, oversee controlled substances and sterile compounding, and work on antibiotic stewardship with the infection preventionist. When you're off site, [a remote order review service or on-call pharmacist] covers order review.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Review medication orders for dose, allergies, interactions, kidney function and duplicate therapy, and call the provider when something is off.
Serve as pharmacist in charge, or your state's equivalent, and keep the pharmacy license, DEA registration and controlled-substance inventories current.
Supervise the pharmacy technician, and check compounded and dispensed medications as your state's pharmacy rules require.
Run sterile and hazardous drug compounding under USP <797> and <800> and your state's rules.
Lead antibiotic stewardship work with the infection preventionist and medical staff, including dose changes and IV-to-oral switches.
Dose drugs such as vancomycin and heparin by protocol, where your state and medical staff approve pharmacist dosing.
Run the formulary and medication error reviews through the pharmacy and therapeutics committee.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Verify new orders and first doses for ED, inpatient and swing bed patients.
Check the technician's IV preparations and cabinet restocks before they go to the units.
Review dispensing cabinet override and controlled-substance discrepancy reports for signs of diversion.
Answer nurse and provider calls about doses, IV compatibility and drug shortages.
Review swing bed and high-risk patients' medication lists with nursing and case management.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Order verification turnaround time: [your target].
Controlled-substance discrepancies closed within policy: [your target].
Antibiotic days of therapy: [your target].
Pharmacy inspection findings: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), or a bachelor's degree in pharmacy from an accredited program.
Active [State] pharmacist license in good standing.
Eligible to serve as pharmacist in charge under your state board of pharmacy rules.
[2+] years of hospital pharmacy experience, or a completed pharmacy residency.
Working knowledge of sterile compounding, controlled-substance rules and medication safety practices.
6. Preferred Experience
Board certification from the Board of Pharmacy Specialties, such as Pharmacotherapy (BCPS).
Experience running a 340B program in a critical access hospital.
Experience as the only pharmacist in a small hospital.
Antibiotic stewardship training, such as a stewardship certificate program.
7. Physical Requirements
Stand at the order-entry station and clean room for long periods, and walk to the units.
Garb and work in the clean room using sterile technique, and lift totes up to [25] pounds.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Weekday schedule: [hours], with after-hours phone coverage: [rotation].
Sterile compounding areas and hazardous drugs, with PPE and garbing procedures.
Inspection visits from [your state board of pharmacy, DEA and accreditor].
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new pharmacist gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What changes when you're the hospital's only pharmacist
Big hospitals staff pharmacists around the clock. Here a single pharmacist may be named on the license, keep the controlled-substance records and write the drug policies, and still go home at five.
The name on the pharmacy license
Your state board of pharmacy sets how much pharmacist time a small hospital needs. Texas is one example. There, a hospital pharmacy with 100 beds or fewer may have a part-time or consulting pharmacist in charge, under a written agreement. A pharmacist has to come in at least every seven days and be reachable at all times. Read your own board's rules before you set the hours. Source: 22 Texas Administrative Code 291.73: Class C pharmacy personnel (Cornell LII).
Nights run on an override list
When the pharmacist leaves, someone else has to check new orders. The template names two options: a remote order review service or an on-call pharmacist. Either way, the pharmacist and the medical staff decide which drugs nurses may pull from the cabinet before review. Each morning the pharmacist reads the override report for anything that shouldn't have come out.
DEA hears about losses within a business day
A theft or significant loss of controlled substances goes to your DEA field office in writing within one business day of finding it. The full DEA Form 106 follows within 45 days. DEA also wants a fresh count of every controlled substance on hand at least every two years. With one pharmacist, name a backup who knows how to start that report. Source: 21 CFR 1301.76: Other security controls, theft and loss reports (Cornell LII).
Federal rules require written drug policies
Under Medicare's critical access rules, the hospital needs written rules on how drugs are stored, handled, dispensed and given. It also needs steps to report adverse drug reactions and errors in giving drugs. A group that includes a doctor, plus any NP, PA or clinical nurse specialist on staff, reviews these policies at least every two years. Here the pharmacist usually writes them and brings error reports to the pharmacy and therapeutics committee. Source: 42 CFR 485.635: Provision of services in critical access hospitals (Cornell LII).
Swing bed drug reviews are your call
Swing bed patients bring some nursing home rules with them, such as resident rights, care plans, rehab and nutrition. The nursing home pharmacy rule isn't on that federal list. So how often the pharmacist reviews a swing bed patient's drugs comes from your policy, your accreditor and any state rule. Write it down, since these patients often arrive from a larger hospital on long medication lists. Source: 42 CFR 485.645: Swing bed requirements for critical access hospitals (Cornell LII).
How much hospital pharmacists make
Pharmacists who work for general medical and surgical hospitals earned a median of $75.69 an hour ($157,440 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $140,910 median for pharmacists in all industries. About 95,760 of the 321,970 pharmacists in that survey work for general hospitals.
Most often a salary. Settle in the offer whether after-hours phone call is covered by the salary or paid on top, and what a night trip in pays.
General hospitals
$157,440$157,440 median Middle half $136,040–$170,190 10th–90th $115,610–$189,570
All industries
$140,910$140,910 median Middle half $129,380–$161,840 10th–90th $99,290–$174,230
$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k$200k$225k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
General hospitals
$115,610
$136,040
$157,440
$170,190
$189,570
All industries
$99,290
$129,380
$140,910
$161,840
$174,230
These figures cover general medical and surgical hospitals of every size. Rural hospitals often pay less than city hospitals. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Verifies orders quickly and accurately with no second pharmacist to catch a miss
Keeps controlled-substance records an inspector could audit on any given day
Calls a provider about a dose or an interaction plainly, and gets the order fixed
Supervises sterile compounding and checks every IV the technician makes
Sorts first doses, shortages and phone calls when they all land at once
Teach these on the job
Your EHR's verification queue and your cabinet reports
Your medical staff's dosing protocols and override list
Handoffs with your remote order review service
340B record keeping, if your hospital takes part
Survey and swing bed routines in a critical access hospital
The pharmacist verifies orders in the EHR, sets up the automated dispensing cabinets and their override lists, and prepares IVs in a clean room or hood. Ask candidates which of these they have built, not only used, because here the pharmacist writes the cabinet profiles and order sets too.
Hospital pharmacist interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Fill in the blanks after you've watched these reports for a few months, and judge trends over a quarter, since one shortage week can swing a small hospital's month.
Order verification turnaround time
Minutes from order entry to pharmacist verification, from EHR time stamps. Report on-site hours and remote review hours apart, and look at first doses for ER patients on their own.
Medication errors reaching patients
Errors that reached a patient, from your safety event reports, sorted by harm and by stage: ordering, dispensing or giving. More reports can mean better reporting, so read each one.
Controlled-substance discrepancies closed within policy
Cabinet and vault count differences resolved within the time your policy allows, from the cabinet's discrepancy report. Note who closed each one and any that became a DEA loss report.
Antibiotic days of therapy
Days on each antibiotic per set number of patient days, from the EHR's antibiotic use report. Review it with the infection preventionist each quarter, since monthly counts here are small.
Pharmacy inspection findings
Findings from board of pharmacy, DEA and accreditor visits, plus your own monthly checks of storage, labels and outdates on the units. Track each one to the date it was fixed.
Can we hire a pharmacist licensed in another state?
Yes, but they need a license from your state before their first shift. NABP's Electronic Licensure Transfer Program moves an existing license to one or more other states. Many states also require a law exam, and NABP says a majority use the MPJE or UMPJE. Start the transfer as soon as the offer is signed, because the board sets the pace.
How much does a hospital pharmacist make?
Pharmacists who work for general medical and surgical hospitals earned a median of $75.69 an hour ($157,440 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $136,040 and $170,190 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Does a critical access hospital qualify for 340B?
Some do. Under the 340B law, a critical access hospital can take part if it is owned or run by state or local government. A nonprofit can too, if it has a government contract to care for low-income patients who don't qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, or has been given government powers. A for-profit hospital doesn't qualify. If yours takes part, ask candidates what 340B records they have kept.
What does a remote order review service do?
Its pharmacists check new orders through your EHR while your own pharmacist is off. Your pharmacist still owns the policies, the stock, the controlled-substance records and the override list. Before you sign, ask the vendor three things. How are its pharmacists licensed for your state? How fast do they answer a nurse? How do they hand problems back each morning?
What experience matters most for a one-pharmacist hospital?
Range. The pharmacist covers the ER, the unit and swing beds, plus IV compounding, buying and inspections, with no one to split the work. The template asks for hospital experience or a residency. Good interview questions: a drug shortage hits late on a Friday, what happens next? A cabinet count is off by one tablet, who do you call?
