Clinical Pharmacist Role

Last semester, I spent most of my weekends working at a pharmacy as a pharmacy technician. My job is not easy because I have to deal with demanding and impatient customers and their insurance company all day. I have worked 9 hours shift without a break. Nevertheless, I love my job. I feel accomplished and satisfied knowing that I helped in the process of improving others’ health. More importantly, I become fascinated with the field. Pharmacy appeals to me as an intriguing and promising occupation. More importantly, it is also a noble profession.

Reporting medication errors is beneficial to improve the learning process for nurses. The factors of workload, ineffective communication, and distraction all contribute to medication errors (Sears et al., 2013). Nurses often excuse the behavior of colleagues when a medication error occurs, or nurses will pass the buck to a senior nurse to report the medication error (Haw, Stubbs and Dickens, 2014). Implementing a no blame policy for reporting medication errors, and providing nurses with the knowledge and training to report medication errors will result in an increase of medication errors reported.

Nursing assistants have long been the heartbeat of assisted living, long-term care and rehabilitation facilities alike. Over time, their roles in these settings have evolved to accommodate the needs of the RNs/LPNs they work alongside and the cliental they care for. In 2001, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) expanded the capacity of NAs in an effort to facilitate safer staffing ratios. This provision allowed those in good standing with sufficient experience to become medication-certified barring successful completion of a training course and exam. The aim of this designation was not to replace the RN/LPN but to create a functional care partner. While this collaboration is an endeavor to improve patient outcomes, there are caveats. The purpose of this paper is to narrowly examine the usefulness of this role and

Alternatively, in an emergency, urgent and acute prescribing circumstances, supplementary prescribing is not suitable because the clinical management plan needed to be agreed in-between Independent Prescriber, Supplementary Prescriber and the patient before prescribing (DOH, 2006). However, Nuttall and Rutt-Howard (2011) argued that for long term conditions, non-medical prescribers are able to make an independent prescribing decision. Additionally, they stated that for long term conditions, patients are typical, predictable and their response to treatment is straightforward. But they also suggested that if a patient is presented with a condition in which they are competent to prescribe, then non-medical prescribers should be confident and competent to treat patient. ). Nuttall and Rutt-Howard (2011) states that nurses, midwives and pharmacists are capable to prescribe independently, but allied health professionals are able to prescribe only as a supplementary prescribing who needs a CMP to be in place for the patient they want to prescribe. However, DOH (2006) specified that supplementary prescribing also provides a perfect structure for newly qualified

To create an environment where these errors are a rare occurrence, all healthcare professionals must dedicate themselves to implementing QSEN's six core competencies each and every day. These professionals must also speak up when they see room for improvement in their workplace. Regardless of the healthcare setting or demographic of patients, safe outcomes are the purpose of providing patient-centered care. Since nurses are the largest subgroup of healthcare professionals, their ability to make strides towards improved medication administration is undeniable. As the nursing code of ethics states, nurses have the duty to protect the health and safety of those in their care (Winland-Brown, Lachman, O'Connor Swanson, 2015). By taking extra caution to administer medications correctly, this honorable obligation will always be within

An ineffective communication can lead to errors in patient’s misdiagnosis and even medication on admission, during hospital stay, and after discharge, and whether these errors were potentially harmful. Medication use is potentially dangerous. Polypharmacy is increasing, and makes it harder to keep track of side effects and interactions and of potentially inappropriate drug combinations. “The risk of serious consequences, hospitalization, and death due to medication errors increases with patients’ age and number of medications (Scand J Prim Health Care, 2012)”. For example, the GP is supposed to monitor the patient's regular medication, but does not always do so. Lack of monitoring and keeping track of patients’ medication use is a main cause when a patient is given inappropriate drugs. When the nurse fails to communicate successfully with patients, it costs. It costs in unnecessary pain, in avoidable deaths, in poor health outcomes and in the prolongation of

Healthcare systems have traditionally been constructed around hierarchical perspectives used to train healthcare professionals (Porter-O’Grady and Malloch, 2007). In such hierarchies, senior physicians are often put at the top with certain power distances between other professionals. This can lead to difficulties in patient management when the patients safety is in question, but the healthcare professional involved may be hesitant to question the physician’s treatment plan or are too intimidated to voice out their opinions. In a study of over 2000 healthcare professionals including nurses and pharmacists, nearly half of the respondents felt pressured into administering a medication for which they had concerns, despite previously questioning the prescriber regarding the safety of the order (Institute for Safe Medication Practices, 2004). This was due to feelings of intimidation by the prescriber and an inability to effectively communicate their concerns. This resulted in 7% of the respondents reporting involvement in a medication error during that past year. Good interpersonal skills and effective communication ensures that concerns regarding patient safety can be brought up without seemingly challenging the knowledge of the other healthcare

Recognizing, acknowledging, and understanding medication safety is important when administering medications. Understanding which medications are high-risk ones, being familiar with the medications being given, remembering the five most important rights when administering medications, communicating clearly, developing checking habits, and reporting the medication errors will lead to safe outcomes for the residents. However, errors do occur from a lack of experience, rushing, distractions, fatigue, doing too many things at once, not double checking, poor communication, and lack of team work. It is not only the staff that commit errors, but also the work environment that contributes to the medication error. Two examples are poor reporting systems

Pharmacists are in a unique position to help. They have the ability and knowledge to implement programs as part of their daily practice to ensure that patients are adherent to their medications. As the medication experts, pharmacists should lead the way to improving medication adherence and providing optimal patient care.

Clostridium difficile is becoming a major problem inside of hospitals. There are many reasons as to why the bacteria is becoming a top priority while treating patients mainly inside of the hospital setting. Hospital-induced infections, lack of a proper diet, and even when people do not perform proper hygiene is causing this bacteria that is considered normal biota, to flourish and cause gastrointestinal distress. Bacteria have spent millions of years growing and their whole goal is to keep doing that.

As a hospital pharmacist you are expected to be an expert in the field of medicines, how they are used and their various effects on the human body. As hospital pharmacist you will be responsible for dispensing prescriptions, purchasing medications and quality testing of medicines. Hospital pharmacists may also manufacture medicines, as in some extreme cases a medicine will need to be tailor made for an individual patient.

Three skills pharmacists must have when it comes to interpersonal communication are negotiation, persuasion, and conflict resolution (“Pharmacists”). In both pharmacies and hospitals, physicians tend to disagree on how best to handle a situation. A pharmacist must be able to listen and understand all sides of a conflict and be able to find a resolution. Typically this requires working with the parties involved in the conflict and coming to an end that satisfies everyone involved. This can be quite difficult, but with the skill of persuasion, pharmacists should be able to convince both parties to change their behaviour in order to make a compromise work. Pharmacists oversee everyone in the pharmacy and therefore must be able to communicate with their subordinates appropriately and efficiently (“What Pharmacists Do”). It is their job to facilitate a good relationship between all their coworkers in order for the pharmacy to run smoothly and resolve any issues that may come up (Christakis 1,3). Pharmacists interactions through interpersonal communication keeps the workplace running smoothly. My overall academic and working experiences in the past have prepared me to be an

I have always had somewhat of an interest in the medical field, but I never wanted to become a physician or pediatrician. A pharmacist is the perfect in between of being in the medical field but not being an actual doctor. Also, dealing with drugs and medicine has always seemed interesting to me for as long as I could remember. As I previously mentioned, pharmacists have job mobility, stability, and flexibility. Pharmacists are employed everywhere in the country, so it’s very likely that I get a job anywhere. Also, everybody gets sick, and people are going to continue to get sick, so my job will always be stable and secure. After talking with my aunt, who is a pharmacist, I found out that a pharmacist only has to complete a certain amount of hours a week. So I could work 3 days and finish all my hours and have rest of the week off, or I could spread my hours throughout the week. Those aren’t the only reasons I want to go into this profession, I really want to help people get well and feel better. A physician isn’t the only role that helps patients feel better. A pharmacist also has a key role. Pharmacists are healthcare providers that have to communicate with there patients to make sure they can take the medication properly according to their lifestyle, diet, and transportation. The best reason of all is that I get to work directly with patients. Pharmacists are able to see patients anytime during the week, morning, evening, and

One of the pharmacist’s main goal is to provide individuals with knowledge about the medication they have been prescribed. If a pharmacist has 100% medical knowledge, I believe that an average person has roughly 5% knowledge regarding medication action, side effects, and contraindications. Most people only know what their

Clinical pharmacy is a health science discipline in which pharmacists provide patient care that optimizes medication therapy and promotes health, and disease prevention, according to American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP). Patient-oriented care requires specialized knowledge, skill and experience to improve quality of life of patient.