About
Sarah is a clinical pharmacist working as the Content and Editorial Manager for the SCRIPT eLearning programme, and as a research pharmacist for Theme 9: Improving Patient Safety – Studying an Evolving IT system.
Qualifications
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Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy 2007
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Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council 2010
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Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain 2004
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Master of Pharmacy 2003
Biography
Sarah Thomas gained her Masters in Pharmacy (MPharm) from Aston University in 2003, and went on to complete her pre-registration training at Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust (now part of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust), becoming a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 2004. After registration, Sarah continued to work at Good hope, and in 2007 she gained her Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy at Keele University. In 2007, she joined Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, working for the older adult directorate in both acute and continuing care inpatient services.
In 2010, Sarah’s keen interest in teaching and medication safety encouraged her to apply for the post of SCRIPT Content and Editorial Manager at the University of Birmingham. This role involved overseeing the development of 40 eLearning modules intended for West Midland junior doctors. The project, commissioned by the West Midlands Workforce Deanery, aims to improve the prescribing knowledge and skill of junior doctors, in order to reduce medication errors and improve patient safety. Although this work was completed in August 2011, Sarah continues her role as Content and Editorial Manager, ensuring the content remains up-to-date and relevant to clinical practice.
In 2011, Sarah started work as a research pharmacist for CLAHRC-BBC Theme 9, and is currently working towards her PhD.
Teaching
MBChB (Year 1)
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Gastrointestinal pharmacology
MBChB (Year 5)
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Good Prescribing lectures and roadshow
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Examine for the ‘Prescribing Licence
School of Dentistry (Year 3)
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Basic and Applied Systemic Human Disease Course
Mini-Med School
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The Drugs Don’t Work – demonstrate the different types of drug formulations available for administration, why these are necessary, and how these work
Research
Sarah is a research pharmacist funded by CLAHRC BBC - Theme 9 (Improving Patient Safety: Studying an Evolving IT system). Her current research focuses on how computerised physician order entry (or electronic prescribing) systems affect how pharmacists and physicians communicate in the secondary care setting, and whether this impacts on patient safety.
Other activities
Honorary pharmacist at the University Hospital Birmingham, working on the Clinical Decision Unit for an afternoon each week.
Publications
Thomas SK, Coleman JJ. The impact of Computerised Physician Order-Entry (CPOE) with integrated Clinical Decision Support (CDS) on pharmacist-physician communication in the hospital setting: A systematic review of the literature. European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy: Science and Practice. 2012; 19(4) 349-354
McDowell SE, Thomas SK, Coleman JJ, Aronson JK, Ferner RE. A practical guide to monitoring for adverse drug reactions during antihypertensive drug therapy: synthesis from a systematic review. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Selected Conference Abstracts
Thomas SK, Hughes E, Seal R, Davies D, Marriott JF, Ferner RE, Patel V, Coleman JJ. Script: An innovative e-Learning programme to improve the prescribing of newly qualified doctors in the West Midlands. British Pharmacological Society (BPS) Conference (December 2012). Poster presentation.
Selected eLearning publications
Thomas SK. Principles of Prescribing: Taking a Safe & Effective Drug History. SCRIPT eLearning programme. NHS Midlands & East. Available online at www.safeprescriber.org (2011)
Martin U, Thomas SK. Prescribing in Special Circumstances: Older Adults. SCRIPT eLearning programme. NHS Midlands & East. Available online at www.safeprescriber.org (2011)
Coleman JJ, Thomas SK. Managing the Risks of Prescribing: Monitoring Drug Therapy. SCRIPT eLearning programme. NHS Midlands & East. Available online at www.safeprescriber.org (2011)