Establishing Professional Judgement in Determining Appropriateness of Any Prescription Medicine

I have graciously been given the opportunity to broaden my horizons and learn a variety of practices in the pharmaceutical environment. Since the October of 2017 I have been employed at Hoey Apothecary under the care and teaching of many pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. At Hoey Apothecary I work as a pharmacy assistant, and only because of the Youth Apprenticeship Program that Monona Grove High School has offered to it’s students. During my time in the program I having developed a variety of skills and learned the inner works of the cooperation between the technicians and pharmacists. Specifically as an assistant, I am tasked with the responsibilities of; ensuring that the patients are receiving the correct prescription, at the right time,

My strongest impetus for the study of this major is pegged on the personal urge to improve the lives and health of those around me. I would only be able to serve the health of others when I am fully acquainted with the knowledge of pharmacy, which to me is one of the noblest professions. I am deeply concerned about the welfare of others. My experiences, especially as I visit hospitals form a significant part in influencing my choice to study pharmacy. At one point, I felt very bad when a pharmacist in a hospital I had visited was very indolent in serving a patient. All human beings would feel adored and valued when they are given appropriate attention in regard to their health. The health profession has a mission geared towards safeguarding people's health and that mission is perfectly in sync with my desires. I want to be exceptional, to do my best in caring for people, and attend to their interest to the best of my knowledge. I admire nourishing hope to desolate patients and always give them a reason to

may be linked to medications used during pregnancy. It is speculated that there are a multitude of health risks to the fetus if an expecting mother is prescribed antidepressants for Major Depressive Disorders. It is also hypothesized that there may be long-term effects to the child after birth if the mother of the child was taking antidepressants during her pregnancy. Postnatal psychological effects may be due to the onset of the drugs during pregnancy, and there may be a link between a child’s physical and psychological state once born, due to the drugs, but is not correlated to women that have used antidepressants before pregnancy. Results identify that there are many negative effects of antidepressants use during pregnancy.

As future pharmacists, we are going to face with not only the medications but also the patients, which the former ones are our tools while the latter ones are the people we use correct tools to care about. We are required to combine our pharmacy knowledge among medications with patients’ different health conditions to create the patient-centered care and provide the best outcomes. However, this care trend is in transition now, from professional-orientated to patient-centered.

As clinical site co-ordinator with many years of clinical experience I feel competent in the drug administration via a variety of routes. Generally the patients I attend have become acutely unwell with most prescriptions not having the third eye of a pharmacist and most drugs being delivered intravenously. It is imperative therefore that the prescription and drugs always be thoroughly checked which relies on good communication throughout. Furthermore, most emergency drugs have a protocol for administration developed by the hospital. However within this situation the nurse is generally the last defence before any medication error actually occurs, therefore it is the nurses responsibility to ensure the prescription is correct and to challenge prescription written

In the delivery of healthcare every member of the healthcare team plays important role in ensuring that the most appropriate care is provided to the patient to the best of their expert capabilities. The role of a pharmacist is critical in delivering quality healthcare. The article “What Pharmacist Do?” by Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012) provides detailed statement of the important roles pharmacists play and the services they provide in healthcare delivery.

I have spent my time as a student pharmacist learning about opportunities within clinical pharmacy and making certain that I was equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed. In my pursuit, I became an active member of pharmaceutical organizations, held multiple leadership positions, attended clinical conferences, established research projects, participated in community service events, and other initiatives. I excelled academically, which was manifested in not just a high academic standard but also in tutoring fellow classmates and arranging sessions with other pharmacy students to help them improve time management and study skills. I shadowed pharmacists and residents before my advanced pharmacy practice experiences commenced to discover which areas of clinical pharmacy I found intriguing. I have obtained valuable pharmacy practice experiences in five specialties thus far including inpatient internal medicine, long term acute care, geriatrics and telehealth, and primary care. Through these rotations, I built upon the knowledge I acquired from my didactic courses but also developed patient-centered approaches and strengthened my clinical skills. I enjoyed many aspects of my rotations, including contributing pharmacotherapy recommendations, providing patient education, attending rounds and interdisciplinary team meetings – all of which have solidified my desire

Pharmacists have many different responsibilities to their patients, these include promoting patient’s safety through checking the patient’s medication and keeping good records every time a patient fills a new prescription or refills prescription filled (Leagle, 1994). Pharmacists should also improve

Specialty pharmacy is based on the dispensing and managing medications based on the disease state. Some examples of this include but are not limited to cancer, HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, and immune disorders. Specific and continuous monitoring is required for many chronic conditions and generally there is a high cost for the use of certain medications. Specialty pharmacy plays a role in ensuring the best outcome for these conditions and the minimalization of adverse reactions. Some of the appealing aspects listed about these positions include being able to work with other fields or health professionals, spending a good portion of their time working with patients, and having a flexible schedule. The more negative aspects of this position include traveling, the amount of prescriptions processed, and some respondents stated there was low patient interaction. According to United Health Groups article The Growth of Specialty Pharmacy, due to new therapies and treatments spending on specialty pharmacy is growing by double digit numbers. In 2012 the spending on specialty drugs was estimated to be about $87 billion and it is suggested that spending is could increase to $400 billion by

One of the most important responsibilities of a pharmacist—whether in a hospital or community setting—is to help people. I was able to observe this critical factor portrayed by my clinical instructors at both St. Francis and at Walgreens. All the pharmacists I worked with during those two weeks displayed a genuine desire to improve their patients’ quality of life by ensuring no drug-drug interactions were present and asking questions about medication histories. I felt humbled and gratified being able to contribute in a minor way when providing

Board Certification helps “to increase opportunities to optimize direct patient care outcomes, and … to provide more opportunities for recognizing pharmacists as direct care providers…With the era of healthcare reform upon us, those who decide to become board certified will excel in the complex, changing market we face in the future.”- Jill A. Rebuck. Becoming board certified increase the complexity and pace of change in health care, expands patient-centered services within pharmacy. There is a growing trend toward specialization in pharmacy practice; documenting pharmacist’s ability to provide specialty care. This assures the public, employers, payers and other health provers (and other pharmacists) that practitioners are qualified in their

The current methods of treatment for postpartum depression include antidepressant medication, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and tricyclic antidepressants, and/or psychotherapy. However, there is a certain amount of risk when taken during pregnancy and lactation. These medications are a pregnancy category C and SSRIs, have been shown to have a slight risk of heart and lung birth defects (Reefhuis, Devine, Friedman, Louik, & Honein, 2015). In breastfeeding mothers, all psychiatric medications are secreted in breastmilk, and some

Counseling patients is extremely important; it allows pharmacists with the opportunity to better understand the health status of their patients. If a patient doesn’t know what, why or how to take their medication. We are the ones who help educate them. Better informed patients equates to better overall healthcare. If they are more medically literate before seeking our help, we can better assist them. As they begin to inquire more, it pushes health care providers to be more conscientious of their tasks. Greater care and consideration is taken when our patients can also hold us accountable. Encouraging patients to reach out with concerns or comments will benefit the pharmacist patient care process. For example, if the patient was able to identify that the drug name, though similar, were blatantly incorrect and brought it to the attention of her pharmacist they could have fixed it before the patient walked out the

Pew, Stephen, Ph.D (2008). Introduction to Health Services. 7th Ed. [Video] Thomson Delmar Learning. Retrieved from:

There are other pharmacy staff who also have roles in relation to the safe dispensing of medicines. A pharmacist is responsible for: Overall checking of a prescription to make sure that it is legal and written by a person qualified to do so, dispensing the right quantity of the correct medicine, ensuring that medicines are correctly labelled with the person’s name, the name of the medicine and the dosage, providing advice and treatment for minor illnesses, injuries and health concerns, providing a repeat prescription service in co-operation with GP