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DEFINING PHARMACY
Pharmacy is not only the act of dispensing medication and council to the customer on use, as I have learned from my first definition. It is a spectrum of definitions comprised in a single field going from broad to specialized as a new genre of health services. Pharmacy is also the chemical preparation, the mixture, the the administrative management of the HMC, which coordinates the physicians, and patients. Finally, to that,in order for all of this to happen, it begins with the student who becomes the PharmD; the PharmD; who does a rotation; the PhD who goes into a speciality; the scientist who follows his heart into pharmaceutics and helps bring new compounds to clinical trial. Pharmacy is the collaboration of a multitude of professionals in and out of the field who all have one major goal, and that is the best interest of the patient. Whether it be the pharmacist behind the counter; the doctor who works with the PharmD to learn more about the patients history; the pharmacist who works on various projects in speciality areas to help determine the best combination for specific diseases; and the NP, nurses social workers who all work as a team with the pharmacist to provide the emotional, medical and therapeutic support needed for the patient to have medication monitored and management therapy as a part of every medication that comes across their medicine cabinets pharmacy is a multitude of actions and interactions.
Pharmacy: “bringing the right medication to the right person at the right time”, from fruition to bedside and if needed followed through again.
“From a store front where medicinal drugs were dispensed and sold, to pharmacia; to the art of practice and preparation and compounding; to branching ...
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...th other health professionals. Someday it may be the pharmacist writing the prescription based on the teams analysis. Certified professionals will become mandated to better protect the public and assure that all those involved are currently knowledgeable.
According to OHIO UNIVERSITY, “the field of pharmacy will experience a demand for pharmacists not only in retail areas but in collaborative environments with hospitals, scientists, drug therapy,and management, pharmaceutical companies etc.”
Pharmacists now need to be PharmD licensed and in the future will need resizing so as to specialize in more diverse areas. Diseases are becoming more and more complicated and we need the experts to help find the answers. More importantly we need them to explain to us the patient, why we need to take medications, how many, for how long and to follow up with our care.
... 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.
Pharmacists have a very tedious job because it requires a lot of attention to detail. Pharmacists dispense drugs and provide information to the patients about medication. Not only do they provide information to patients about side effects, but also they inform physicians of the ever-changing selection of drugs and dosage. Weighing, measuring, mixing drugs, finding the identity and purity, and strength of medications is also an important part of the job. Pharmacists must be sure not to dispense drugs that will have a negative reaction to the other medications that the patient may already be taking. Pharmacists work in clean, well-lighted, and well-ventilated areas. They work with dangerous materials and sterile pharmaceutical products, which require them to wear gloves and masks. Many full time, salaried pharmacists work at least about forty hours per week. Community pharmacists research and dispense information and help for diabetes, asthma, smoking cessation, and high blood pressure....
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.
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
“Don’t you worry, I’ll make sure we will get everything sorted out for you,” spoked the pharmacist to an overwhelmed patient. This was my first day shadowing a pharmacist at the UC Davis Medical Center during my winter break from college. I witnessed my shadowing pharmacist patiently consulted this patient on multiple medications, ensuring he followed the instructions with his take home prescriptions before discharging from the hospital. Over the course of this shadowing experience, I observed how pharmacists collaborated with doctors to provide the best pharmaceutical care and helped facilitate smooth discharge process. I was amazed at their extensive knowledge of not just pharmaceutical drugs but also on different disease states, social
Studies have shown that patients fail to adhere and comply with medicines because of lack of understanding. [1] Gordon et al (2007) conducted a study which aimed to identify medication related problems and identify approaches to support patients to manage their medication. Problems with access to and the organisation of services was one of the findings highlighted from the study. Pharmacy can address the issues associated with organisation of services, patient education and engaging patients in decision making about their medicines in the home during consultation.
Since my early schooling days, science and mathematics have always fascinated me given that all components of the world are explained on the basis of these disciplines. In this regard, Pharmacy which is based on Chemistry and Mathematics has interested me a great deal as it has direct impacts on our daily lives. The more I have become familiar with the chemistry and mathematics knowledge involved in pharmacy, the more I have appreciated its significance in improving the lives of people in the community. Out of the many careers that one would opt to pursue, Pharmacy has stood out as the career that will enable me serve the society more directly and have a real impact in the quality of peoples’ lives by touching their health. In addition, I love a career that is challenging and one that I will be involved in even in old age. In this case, Pharmacy offers me this opportunity. My interest in Pharmacy has also developed from my personal health experiences and becoming aware of its expansiveness. Every time I have had to take medicine to cure an illness, I have become more interested to know how drugs are made and how the drug components work in the human body to alleviate pain and restore health. I desire to pursue a career in Pharmacy so as to gain practical experience in these aspects of research.
To many people all a pharmacist does is count pills or dispense medication. But the profession of pharmacy has moved tremendously beyond just dispensing medications to providing more patient oriented services. Pharmacists think it is time for a change and are coming together to fight for what many believe should already be considered a responsibility of a pharmacist. As healthcare professionals many pharmacists are not recognized as health care providers and consequently are limited in scope of practice, as well as compensation.1 However, this is not a universal or federal responsibility.1
Paul DM. Role of Pharmacist in Reducing Medication Errors. J Surg Onch 2004; 88: 189-194.
When you ask people what you think when word “pharmacist” come to your mind? They often say pharmacist have to deal with variety of legal drugs. From my personal opinion, when I hear the word “Pharmacist”, I think of helping others. This inspiration came from my Health Science class I took in twelve grade. Until senior year of my high school, I did not know what I wanted to be. But it all changed, after my first shadowing experience at pharmacist station. There I learn about what exactly the pharmacist career is about, what are some of the equipments used in the field and how I can contribute the knowledge I receive here to help others.
The importance of the becoming a pharmacist should not be about what the career can give a person in monetary value or the amount of accolades one receives. Instead, the career should be about saving and improving human lives and serving the public. Pharmacists keep people healthy, make them feel better, and try to help the public live longer and happier lives as long as possible. From small infant children to the elderly, everyone needs pharmaceutical care. Sometimes it can be a matter of life and death if medication is not available to the public. Pharmacy as a career would be a wise decision if a person could withstand the amount of education the profession entails.
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...
Pharmacists have very important roles in healthcare from all angles. Physicians and licensed practitioners that write a written prescription, the pharmacist reviews patient history, health conditions, and interactions with the new medication prescribed. As a pharmacy technician (for six years) I had a somewhat of an overview on what they accomplished in a shift but did not know everything on what I know now from this research. Pharmacy students that are in the process to obtain their doctor of pharmacy (D.Pharm.) go through a series of training, education and internship to become a well-rounded pharmacist.
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
Firstly, the main role of a pharmacist is to dispense medicines to their patients according to the prescription given. Before this, they have to ensure that they delivering the right drug, the strength and dosage of the medicine are appropriate, as well as ensuring the medication is safety and can work effectively in the human body. (Swanson, 2005)