CHPPC Module 42: Mastering Clinical Surveillance
Part 8: Advanced Clinical Practice

Module 42: Mastering Clinical Surveillance: From Data to Intervention

Learn to hunt for hidden risks and opportunities in the EHR, transforming your practice from reactive verification to proactive, population-level patient care.

From Gatekeeper to Guardian: The Pharmacist as Lifeguard

Traditional order verification has trained you to be an expert gatekeeper. You stand at a critical checkpoint, meticulously inspecting every order that tries to pass through to the patient. This is an essential, life-saving role. But it is fundamentally reactive—you only act when an order is presented to you. What about the dangers that never generate an order? The patient with declining renal function who is on multiple nephrotoxic drugs? The patient whose blood culture turns positive for yeast, but whose team hasn’t seen the result yet?

This module teaches you to become a guardian. Think of yourself as a lifeguard watching over a crowded beach. The gatekeeper only worries about the people coming onto the sand. The lifeguard is responsible for everyone in the water. You are trained to scan the entire population, using powerful data tools to spot the subtle signs of distress—the clinical signals hidden in the EHR—long before the patient is waving their arms for help. You’re not waiting for the problem to come to you; you are proactively hunting for it.

By the end of this module, you will have the skills to use clinical surveillance systems to monitor hundreds of patients simultaneously, identify emerging risks, and intervene with precision. You will move beyond the single order and learn to protect the entire population under your care.

What This Module Will Teach You

This is a comprehensive, hands-on curriculum designed to make you an expert in the theory, workflow, and clinical application of surveillance pharmacy.

Core Curriculum: 8 In-Depth Lessons

You will build a robust theoretical and clinical foundation through a series of eight masterclass lessons covering the full spectrum of surveillance practice:

  • Lesson 1: Foundations – What surveillance is, data sources, and the anatomy of a surveillance rule.
  • Lesson 2: Workflow & Triage – Mastering inbox hygiene and prioritization.
  • Lesson 3: Anti-infective Stewardship – Applying surveillance to cultures, levels, and IV-to-PO conversions.
  • Lesson 4: Anticoagulation & Hemostasis – Managing heparin drips, DOACs, and reversals.
  • Lesson 5: Renal/Hepatic Dosing & Electrolytes – Detecting organ dysfunction and managing critical lab abnormalities.
  • Lesson 6: Parenteral Therapy Safety – Tackling compatibility, vesicants, and smart pump guardrails.
  • Lesson 7: Communication & Documentation – Using SBAR and closed-loop communication for your findings.
  • Lesson 8: Metrics, Governance, & QI – Understanding KPIs and the rule lifecycle.

Skills Labs: 4 High-Pressure Simulators

Apply your knowledge and test your decision-making speed in four realistic, timed simulations designed to build muscle memory for real-world practice:

  • Lab A: Inbox Triage Sprint – Triage 30 mixed alerts against the clock, graded on accuracy and timeliness.
  • Lab B: Code-Blue Meds Micro-sim – Select correct ACLS medications and doses under extreme time pressure.
  • Lab C: IV Line Management – Resolve Y-site incompatibilities and extravasation events in a virtual environment.
  • Lab D: Discharge Med Rec – Process a complex discharge, converting therapies and documenting your rationale.

Competency Assessment Plan

Your learning will be measured through a combination of continuous feedback and a final, high-stakes challenge to ensure you are practice-ready:

  • Formative Assessments: Per-lesson readiness checks, peer feedback on documentation, and real-time scoring in the skills labs.
  • Summative Capstone (OSCE-style): A final 45-minute exam where you manage alerts for three complex virtual patients and handle a live escalation call, graded on a comprehensive rubric.

Take-Home Job Aids: Your Practice Toolkit

You will graduate from this module with a complete set of downloadable, one-page job aids designed to accelerate your transition to expert practice:

  • Alert Triage Checklist
  • Dosing & Monitoring Quick Cards (Vanc/AMG, Electrolytes)
  • SBAR & Documentation Phrase Bank
  • KPI Definitions & Sample Dashboard
  • Rule Anatomy & Naming Conventions Guide
Competency Assessment Plan