Ambulatory care pharmacy is becoming a rising branch of pharmacy. These pharmacists can work in a variety of environments, such as community-based and hospital settings, tending to a diverse patient population. Ambulatory care allows pharmacists to be associated with tending to patients in ambulances and continuing their follow-ups in the emergency room. Ambulatory care pharmacy is the ability to have accessible health care service by professionals that address special medical needs for patients who may have concurrent illnesses. Some specialize in specific disease states, such as hypertension or diabetes. Patients of ambulatory care pharmacists look to them for medication management and education, self-management, and promotion of their wellness and health.
Ambulatory care pharmacists typically hold a doctorate in pharmacy and have been through residency programs to be granted their positions. These pharmacists work an average of forty-one hours a week and earn an annual salary around $100,000 or greater. Although the job of an ambulatory care pharmacist is high paced and challenging, many existing ambulatory care pharmacists claim to be satisfied with their position.
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Appealing aspects from an insider’s perspective that the role of an ambulatory care pharmacists holds is to improve patient care, whether it be independently or by interaction with doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals.
Ambulatory pharmacists pride themselves in building long-term relationships with their patients. Aspects that are the least appealing to the job are dealing with paperwork and documentations. Some ambulatory care pharmacists claim that other healthcare provides believe they are trying to do their job for them and fail to realize these pharmacists are rather complementing their work. This problem arises due to ambulatory care pharmacy being a more recent
specialty. The most important critical factors that I chose were interaction with patients, helping people, working with teams, applying clinical knowledge, and benefits (vacation, health, retirement). Ambulatory care pharmacy aligns with the critical factors that I chose. Ambulatory care pharmacists spend a significant amount of time interacting and helping their patients. These pharmacists can work independently or as a team applying their clinical knowledge and skills to improve and promote patient care. I believe that an ambulatory care pharmacist is a good fit for myself since I am striving to work in a hospital setting. I desire a very important and high paced job that involves patient contact and application of clinical skills, which is exactly what ambulatory care pharmacy is.
• Organize inventory and alert pharmacists to any shortages of medications or supplies • Accept payment for prescriptions and process insurance claims • Enter customer or patient information, including any prescriptions taken, into a computer system • Answer phone calls from customers • Arrange for customers to speak with pharmacists if customers have questions about medications or health matters Pharmacy technicians work under the supervision of pharmacists, who must review prescriptions before they are given to patients. In most states, technicians can compound or mix medications and call physicians for prescription refill authorizations. Technicians also may need to operate automated dispensing equipment when filling prescription orders. Pharmacy technicians working in hospitals and other medical facilities prepare a greater variety of medications, such as intravenous medications.
... for every pharmacist. This ratio dictates that pharmacists can not oversee every aspect of technicians’ jobs. It is this singular fact that very few people realize. The pharmacy technician who receives no formal training is responsible for not just the delivery of a patient’s medication, but also for their bill, their confidential information, and their life. The question now is, how can an uneducated individual be given so much responsibility? Technicians are granted these responsibilities because a pharmacist can not do the job alone. Pharmacists strive to mold each new technician into an employee that will realize what technicians really do. Pharmacists and technicians provide patients with safe and accurate medication in a timely manner. This is not a task for pharmacists or technicians alone; it is task that requires both personnel in order to be accomplished.
This service is experienced, documented, evaluated and paid for as Pharmaceutical Care. Pharmaceutical Care consists of a philosophy of practice, patient care process as well as a patient management system. Pharmaceutical Care has common integrated vocabulary consistent with other patient care practices such as medicine, dentistry and nursing. Philosophy of pharmaceutical care consists of a description of the social need for the practice, a concise and clear statement of individual practitioner responsibilities to meet this social need, the expectation to be patient-centered and the requirement to function within the caring paradigm. This philosophy of practice is expected and practiced by all health care professionals. The patient care processes must be consistent with the patient care processes of all other health care providers. These processes include the assessment of the client’s pharmaceutical needs, a health care plan that is constructed to meet the specific needs of the client and a process in which evaluates the health care plan to gauge the efficacy of decisions made and actions taken. Pharmaceutical care management system includes all resources needed to manage the client’s needs, which include the space provided, such as a clinic or hospital, an appointment system for patients, appropriate and ethical documentation, reporting of patient care, evaluation of decisions made and actions taken and payment of service
I pleased to apply to the PharmD program as the program is one area that corresponds to my career dreams. Being part of this program gives one the opportunity to gain an excellent experience in working and collaborating with various health care providers in the ward. But more importantly, it facilitates a practical environment in dealing more closely with patients. Hence, it helps to provide the ultimate health care services to patients. Also, it permits me to carry on gaining different knowledge, skills, and values in addition to those I have already developed during my undergraduate studies. My interest in being a clinical pharmacist was first aroused during my SPEP rotation in the hospital setting where I was really impressed with the role of clinical pharmacists who provide a consistent process of patient care with healthcare teams to maintain the appropriateness, effectiveness and safety of the medication use. Unlike a pharmacist, a clinical pharmacist has a more diversified responsibilities and closeness to direct patient care. Moreover, provides
I chose a career as a medical assistant because of the rewards I knew I would experience on a daily basis. Seeing a patient smile because I have helped them understand, or just making them feel comfortable with their visit, is just one of the many perks of my job. Upon graduating from an accredited college such as The College of Health Care Professions (CHCP), I now work for one of the most reputable hospitals in my area. Within two short years of committed studies, I obtained my associate of applied science degree, and then went on to obtain my certification as a medical assistant. There is nothing I have found more fulfilling, strong, secure, or rewarding then choosing to become a medical assistant,
Physician Assistant is a career choice that entails various specialties and flexibilities that attracts many. Those who desires a path to practice medicine as soon as possible, PA 's lateral mobility allows that to happen. Compared to medical school, PA school requires less time and amount less debt. As the population grows and chronic diseases spreads, The future projection of PA is growing faster than the average careers.
Seamless care is the transition of a patient from the hospital to home. It also comprises of care that is given to a patient in the health care system across the spectrum of caregivers and their environments. It is carried out without interruption. Pharmacy can contribute such that when one pharmacist ceases to be responsible for the patient's care, another has to take over. The clinical pharmacy team has to ensure timely access to specialist medicines and prompt symptom control. Pharmacy’s contribution to seamless care i...
When doctors prescribe medication for their patients, a local retail pharmacy is most likely to be utilized to fill the order. However, there is a growing population of older Americans that are no longer able to live independently and must reside in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. In order for this vulnerable population to receive their medications, a different kind of pharmacy is needed, these are known as LTC, long term care pharmacies. Within these specialized pharmacies there are highly trained employees called CPhTs, certified pharmacy technicians who are overseen by state licensed RPHs, otherwise known as pharmacists.
Healthcare in the modern area is a complex and multilayered network. Its structure is based upon multiple different professions and departments that all work cohesively to provide quality care, diagnosis and treatment to every patient that enters the database. No matter the individual credentials, every medical professional’s role is vital to the healthcare system but presently there is a heavy demand for the physician assistant profession. The physician assistant or (PA) is a team-based patient-centered provider who can practice autonomously or in collaboration with members of a patient’s healthcare team all while under the guidance of a physician. Modeled on the medical school curriculum, they undergo rigorous education and once licensed,
While a PA must sign off under a physician at all times, they are still able to write prescriptions, and unlike a physician, they can enjoy the freedom of moving to different specialties within the health field and are not locked into one practice. A PA program is also only two to three years as opposed to four years plus a three-year residency in medical school, meaning someone in this career is able to start working sooner with less debt than a physician. The greatest satisfaction to being a PA is that they have the perfect balance between life and medicine while still receiving a high paying salary. PAs have less administrative responsibilities than a physician and abundant job opportunities as the job growth for PAs is expected to grow thirty percent from 2010 to 2020 (5). When I was an intern in the Emergency Room I always asked the physicians if they could go back and do it over again would they have still chosen to be a physician or would they have rather been a PA? Overall there were more doctors who would have rather gone the PA route and only two PAs who wanted to be a physician instead. As far as a PAs hour, it really depends on the specialty. Surgical PAs can work as much as eighty hours a week and be on call while family practice PAs work about forty hours a week with a 9-5 day (6). While there are traveling PA careers, such as being a PA in the military, most stay in one office of a physician.
First, here is some important background information about Pharmacists. A Pharmacist is someone who is trained and licensed to distribute medicinal drugs and to advise on their use. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook Pharmacists do all of the following: "Fill prescriptions, verify proper amounts of medication to give to patients, check whether the prescription will interact negatively with other drugs that a patient is taking or conditions the patient has, instruct patients on how to and when to take a prescribed medicine, Advise patients on potential side effects they may experience from taking the medicine, Advise patients about general health topics, such as diet, exercise, managing stress, and on other issues, such as what equipment or supplies would be best for a health problem, Keep records and do other administrative tasks, Complete insurance forms and work with insurance companies to be sure that patients get the medicine they need, Teach other healthcare practitioners about proper medication therapies for patients, and lastly oversee the work of pharmacy technicians and pharmacists training."() Some pharmacists participate in compounding, where they create medications by mixing ingredients themselves. Pharmacists tha...
The pharmacy environment is a unique environment in the field of medicine being that it is a place of informal counseling between the pharmacist and the patient. In most cases, in a retail or clinical pharmacy setting, pharmacists have plenty of opportunities to counsel patients concerning their medications and overall general health. Pharmacists have an important role in the distribution of medications, along with bearing the knowledge of the importance of medication adherence. The importance of medication adherence can be relayed to the patient in many different ways, and the way that information is transmitted can have an effect on the success of adherence to chronic medications. The amount and type of information projected to the patient by the pharmacist is key to a better overall patient experience.
I was also responsible for monitoring medication orders and reviewing patient profiles to ensure that the proper drugs and dosages were prescribed and that the pharmacy technician had prepared them properly. In many instances there were mistakes made in the preparation phase and sometimes even before, with incorrect dosages or drugs being prescribed and prepared, which could result in serious adverse effects for the patient. A clinical pharmacist’s role, however, is to make sure that these mistakes never reach the
Pharmacists often work together in a team with other healthcare professional like physicians and nurses. In the process, pharmacists will give advice to them on the selection of medication, by providing the evidences based on the dosage form, the side effects and possible interaction with food of the medication. On the other hand, pharmacists also take part in research and clinical studies. Recently, pharmacists are recruited to conduct pharmacy-based research in pharmacies. (Swanson, 2005)
Like every career, pharmacists have certain qualities and skills. I feel that I fit many qualities of pharmacists, including an attention to detail, communication skills, and science and mathematic skills. I have also been a perfectionist, paying attention to each detail of my work. This is what helped me stay organized throughout high school, and earn a 4.021 cumulative GPA. Pharmacists must be detail-orientated to ensure their patients receive the right dosage, amount, and type of medication. An error in this could harm the patient, therefore breaking the Hippocratic oath. Furthermore, a pharmacist must pay attention to the patient’s other prescriptions and medical history to avoid any negative reactions. Next, I have earned strong customer service and communication skills from my job at Fareway Food Stores. Since I earned this job in May 2012, I have made it one of my goals to assist and brighten the day of my customers. As a pharmacist, I would need strong communication skills with my patients to fit them with the best prescription possible. Additionally, I would counsel them on the directions of their mediation, any potential side affects, and how to add new medications into their lifestyle with the least amount of stress. Apart from my patients, I would have to communicate my with pharmacy technicians and any interns I may have, as well as insurance companies. Lastly, I feel I have natural abilities in science and mathematics. I