Overview

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is the agency of the Department of Justice responsible for incarcerating federal felons. The BOP has many facilities throughout the country including 119 institutions, 6 regional offices, a headquarters, 2 staff training centers, and an additional 26 residential reentry management offices. Inmates are assigned to a particular prison according to their security classification, with prisoners with shorter sentences and lesser offenses placed in Federal Prison Camps, and those with the most severe offenses, longest sentences, and most notoriety incarcerated in U.S. Penitentiaries. Current information related to inmate and staff statistics can be found on the BOP statistics web page

The Joint Commission accredits every BOP facility. Six are classified as medical referral centers that provide special medical needs such as medical/surgical, long-term care, psychiatric care, medical evaluations, and hospice beds. The remaining facilities have ambulatory care clinics that are usually staffed by 2 physicians, 2 dentists, 6-10 mid-level practitioners (physician assistants and nurse practitioners), technical and administrative aides, and pharmacy staff. These clinics provide outpatient visits, inpatient admissions, follow-up care, physical examinations, vision refraction, laboratory tests, minor surgical services, radiography, consultant visits, dental care, daily sick call, prescription medications, and other services. Specialty care in this setting is provided either by visiting physicians or by transporting inmates to the specialist's practice site.

There are over 150 pharmacist positions in the BOP, many of which are one-man stations. Pharmacists in the BOP are thoroughly involved in pharmaceutical care. Most BOP pharmacists fill medication orders directly from the patient's chart, which provides complete medical information. All pharmacists provide patient counseling and many work with diabetes, hypertension, mental health clinics; monitor the treatment of infectious diseases; go on rounds with physicians; and provide discharge counseling. The pharmacy department is typically located adjacent to the exam rooms. This proximity fosters a genuinely cooperative and interdisciplinary approach to patient care. Pharmacists function as a source of information for their fellow practitioners, they provide education to patients and staff alike, and are intimately involved in continuous quality improvement. Several pharmacists have moved into administrative positions such as Health Service Administrator or Associate Warden.

The BOP Chief Pharmacist is committed to supporting and promoting dynamic roles for the pharmacy practitioner, which include:

•  Increasing involvement in drug monitoring and disease management.
•  Reducing medication errors through Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement.
•  Multi-disciplinary clinical care teams.
•  Participating in drug utilization programs.
• Documenting outcomes of care.
•  Providing drug information.
• Patient education.
• Formulary management.

Other BOP health initiatives include smoking cessation, proper OTC medication selection through prison commissaries, TB preventive therapy, and HIV medication compliance.

Pharmacists may apply to the BOP either as a civil servant or as a member of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. There are certain hiring restrictions for each personnel system; however, both offer promotion potential and Federal benefits. Please contact the Medical Recruitment Office at 1-800-800-2676 for general information and application procedures.

Bureau of Prison Pharmacy Practice

A PowerPoint presentation giving an overview of the practice of pharmacy in the Bureau of Prisons. 

Federal Bureau of Prisons

The BOP Employment Page provides a wealth of employment information about a career with the Bureau of Prisons.

Pharmacist Job Information

The BOP Pharmacist Web Page provides information about the Bureau of Prisons pharmacist position description, qualifications, and application procedures.

USPHS Commissioned Corps

The Commissioned Corps USPHS.Gov Home Page provides information about a career as a USPHS Commissioned Officer.

USPHS Commissioned Corps Management Information System

The Commissioned Corps Management Information Systems (CCMIS) Home Page provides information about the Commissioned Corps personnel system.

Listservs

The PharmPAC Listservs Web Page includes several PharmPAC and USPHS list servs. Follow the instructions on the web page to subscribe to the desired Listserv.

Recruitment Workgroup

The mission of this workgroup is to personally contact all pharmacists and pharmacy students who have expressed an interest in a career with the BOP. For questions regarding employment in the BOP, please contact the workgroup lead, CAPT Cassondra White.