University 0f Sulaimay 2nd semester

College of pharmacy Lec. 1

Clinical pharmacy department Lecturer: Dr.Khanda T. Hamasalih

Pharmacy practice experience 3 11

Introduction to the pharmacy maps and pharmacy staffs

Community pharmacy: is a place where individuals may obtain health advices and medications that assist in their disease states.

So it has a unique position in the healthcare delivery system as it is the first and/or the final contact between patients and drugs in the majority of cases.

Organization of community pharmacy:

  1. Prescription area: the area where prescription only drugs and related products are sold.
  2. Front area: the area where over the counter drugs, cosmetics, toiletries and other items are sold that do not require prescription and can be sold legally by pharmacist.
  3. Counseling area: it is the private or a semi-private area where the patient should be counseled far from other individuals and distractions. Also, he should feel that the counseling area is secure, confidential, and suitable for learning. This makes both parties to focus on the discussion, and minimizes distractions and interruptions. Furthermore, the counseling area provides an opportunity for clients to ask questions they may be hesitant to ask in public

Pharmacy staff:

  1. Community pharmacist: The pharmacist as an important member of the healthcare team is a trained professional that can be seen without an appointment and in an informal setting which is often considered to be part of an everyday shopping experience. Therefore, pharmacists are the most highly accessible members of the primary health care team, visited by both people who are in good health and ill. They are the health professional that can help the public to maintain good health, to avoid ill health and to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.

The pharmacy profession, in the past century, mainly covered compounding. Later on this have been reduced and became mainly consisted of dispensing. A new role had to be developed for the profession since only dispensing does not fulfill the needs. While pharmacist has maintained the responsibility for the safe preparation and distribution of drugs, the role of the pharmacist has been moved into a direct patient care, means pharmacist should take responsibilities for assessing status of patients, developing a therapeutic plan, documentation and follow-up of outcomes, and assuming responsibility for the outcomes. By taking direct responsibility for patient’s medication-related needs, pharmacist can make contribution to the outcome of drug therapy and to the quality of life of the patient. Pharmacists as the experts in medicines have always been known as a trusted and accessible source of treatment and advice. Although patients consider physicians as the primary and pharmacist as the secondary source of information, but physicians often lack some important knowledge that pharmacists possess, such as drug information, the patient's medication profile and compliance with drug.

Pharmacists need attitudes, knowledge and skills in order to be an effective health care professional. The role of pharmacist recognized and advocated by the World Health Organization as seven star pharmacist;

A. Caregiver: Pharmacists provide caring services. While interacting with the patient or population, the pharmacist must be comfortable. Services must be of the highest quality.

B. Decision-maker: The efficacious, appropriate, safe and cost-effective use of resources (e.g., Chemicals, personnel, equipment, medicines, procedures, and practices) should be the base of the pharmacist’s work. Achieving this goal needs the ability to synthesize, evaluate data and information and decide upon the most suited course of action.

C. Communicator: Pharmacist is in an ideal position to provide a link between physician and patient, and to communicate information about medicines and health to the public. While interacting with other health professionals and the public, he or she must be confident and knowledgeable. Skills of the communication include verbal, non-verbal, listening and writing.

D. Manager: Pharmacists must effectively manage resources (human, physical and financial) and information. They must feel comfortable while being managed by another. More and more, information and its related technology make pharmacists to be responsible for sharing information about medicines and related products and ensuring their quality.

E. Life-long-learner: In pharmacy school, it is impossible to gain all the knowledge and experience that is needed in order to practice a career as a pharmacist. The principles, concepts, and commitment to lifelong learning must begin while attending school of pharmacy and must be supported throughout the pharmacist’s career. It is important for the pharmacists to learn how to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.

F. Teacher: Pharmacist is responsible to assist with educating and training of future generations of pharmacists and the public. Participating as a teacher not only gives knowledge to others, it offers a chance for the practitioner to gain new information.

G. Leader: Weather in multidisciplinary caring situations or in areas where other health care providers are in short supply or non-existent the pharmacist is committed to assume a leadership position in the overall welfare of the patient and the community. Leadership involves empathy and compassion as well as vision and the ability to communicate, make decisions, and manage effectively. Having a vision and the ability to lead makes the pharmacist's leadership to be recognized.

From this concept, the requirements of the general WHO Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) urges pharmacists to focus all their interventions on the benefits of patients. The following are some of the basic guidelines:

  1. In all settings a pharmacist’s first concern is the welfare of the patients;
  2. The core of pharmacy activity is the supply of drugs and other health care products of assuring quality, appropriate advice and information for the patient, and monitoring of the effects of use;
  3. An integral part of the pharmacist’s contribution is the promotion of economic and rational prescribing of appropriate use of drugs;
  4. The objective of pharmacy service is relevant to the patient, is clearly defined and is effectively communicated to all those involved.
  1. Pharmacy technician

A pharmacy technician is a person working in a pharmacy under supervision of licensed pharmacists. They assist the pharmacist with routine functions, but leave decision making and judgment calls to the community pharmacist.

Pharmacy assistant allows community pharmacists to spend sufficient time with patient, screen patient for disease, review medication profiles, monitor for side effects and adverse reactions, and discuss cost-effective drug therapy options with the prescriber. So the risk of preventable and costly medication errors may increase without the presence of pharmacy technician.

Within the pharmacy, the activities of assistant can range from ordering and stocking of drugs to dispensing and preparing a label for the medication. Although the pharmacy assistant carries out many of the functions traditionally performed by pharmacists, the community pharmacist must always check her or his work.

Pharmacy technician to be a successful person must possess a wide range of skills, knowledge, and aptitudes. He or she must have a broad knowledge and information of pharmacy practice to provide a critical healthcare service to patients and customers. In addition, the assistant must have an eagerness to learn, high ethical standards, excellent communication skills, the ability to perform calmly and accurately in stressful and hectic situations, and a sense of responsibility toward patients and the pharmacist with whom he or she interacts.