ASHP Publishes NICU Primer for Pharmacists

Press Release

ASHP today announced the release of NICU Primer for Pharmacists, a unique and comprehensive overview of pharmacological treatment and neonatal care for pharmacists as well as pharmacy students and residents.

Research shows that safe and effective drug therapy for neonates is a complex and difficult challenge. Pharmacists who work in this high-stakes field must fully understand the ability of their fragile patients to metabolize many types of medications.

Written by Amy P. Holmes, Pharm.D., neonatal clinical pharmacy specialist at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston Salem, N.C., the NICU Primer for Pharmacists includes strategies for:

Selecting the optimal drug at the right dose within hours of recognizing a problem.

Detecting and correcting product dilutions.

Overseeing dosing adjustments as patients mature, or gain or lose body weight.

Accommodating for multiple concurrent diseases, dramatic growth, organ maturation and damage, and more.

Maximizing survival without serious long-term damage and neurodevelopmental delays.

In her work with neonates, Dr. Holmes realized that experienced pharmacists, residents, and student pharmacists would all benefit from extra training in this area.

“Most of the current neonatal literature is found in textbooks targeted at physicians, pediatricians, and neonatologists,” said Dr. Holmes. “Clearly, pharmacists who work in this challenging area of practice need information that is geared specifically to their level of therapeutic education and clinical training. This primer fills that void.”

For more information or to order NICU Primer for Pharmacists, visit the ASHP Store online.

About ASHP

ASHP represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. The organization’s more than 40,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For over 70 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists advance healthcare, visit ASHP’s website, www.ashp.org, or its consumer website, www.SafeMedication.com.