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Student APhA
SAPhA
Is Pharmacy Practice Changing To Meet the Practitioner's Needs? What are the needs of the pharmacy practitioner? The pharmacy practitioner has the same basic needs as anyone else-the need for food, shelter, warmth and clothing . To obtain these the practitioner needs a source of income. The pharmacy practitioner needs a sense of fulfillment in what she or he is doing, a challenging role to fill, a means of expressing creativity and intellect. Therefore, that needed job must be not merely a job, but a profession. This profession should allow the pharmacist to fulfill his or her needs, should allow her or him to grow and expand in knowledge . As the training and education of emerging pharmacists is evolving, should not the health care setting in which they are to practice also change to accommodate for this professional evolution and to allow for the changing needs of the practitioner? As pharmacy practice changes to accommodate the needs of the changing practitioner, the profession will be upgraded and those of us in it will be afforded a greater respect by both colleagues in the medical profession and by patients. Forging ahead in the health care field will result in a better professional image and a greater professional acceptance . A great deal of the change in the practitioner is a result of the clinical pharmacy training that pharmacy students are receiving. There are two sides to the " clinical pharmacy/pharmacist" issue. Is clinical pharmacy only practiced in specialized health
Patient Medication PrOfile Monitoring
(Continued from page 249) new dimension of service. An integral part of this new dimension is patient medication profile monitoring. The monitoring procedure has great potential for improving drug therapy. Exactly how great the improvement may be depends on several factors1. The data available to the pharmacist 2. The pharmacist 's clinical knowledge 3. The time available to the pharmacist to utilize this clinical knowledge in monitoring proCedures 4. The pharmacist's consistency in performing monitoring procedures 5. The patient's understanding of how to cooperate with the pharmacist to allow for optimum use of the PMP Reapportionment of the pharmacist's time and the development of a professional desire to undertake new responsibilities are essential for this concept to mature . Profile 270
care settings, or is clinical pharmacy a general upgrading of the profession, a total outlook on patient care and the role of the pharmacist in providing the best possible health care no matter what the practice setting-from the corner drugstore to huge teaching hospitals to the hometown mental health clinic to retail chain drugstores (Shock! Do you mean to tell me that patient-oriented pharmacy can be practiced in a chain?!) Your stupefaction should be understandable; after all I haven't seen it either, but maybe I just frequent the wrong chain drugstore and besides, I can hope, can 't I? The very word "clinical" seems so sterile. It projects the image of a God-like creature stalking the halls of institutional health care settings with stethoscope and Code Blue kit at the ready. This image may have imprinted itself so strongly on our minds that we refuse to believe that clinical pharmacy is more than that-it is a new outlook on patient care and a re-orientation (or perhaps a reversion) from a primary focus on drugs to a primary focus on the patient who uses them. In that sense, clinical pharmacy is not practiced exclusively in institutional settings, but in every area of pharmacy practice . Not all graduating students, even from the most clinically oriented 'schools, will be able to find clinical positions, even if they wanted them . They will practice in community pharmacies, clinics, hospitals and chain drugstores. Eventually they will be pharmacy owners, administrators and managers. Are these young pharmacists really expected to relinquish their ideals and goals just so that they can get a job? These people
systems will require modification to accommodate pertinent therapeutic data. It is as important to take the necessary time to effectively monitor a patient's drug profile as it is to type the prescription label properly. Haphazard execution of any of the steps involved in dispensing medications can result in inappropriate drug therapy for the patient. It is of extreme importance to the patient that all functions related to the dispensing of medication and medication information be discharged with accuracy and efficiency . •
References 1. " AGP Releases Statement on Patient Profiles," Academy/ GP, 9 ( 12). 1- 2 (Dec . 1974)
2. Solomon. D. K.• et al., " Use of Medication Profiles To Detect Potential Therapeutic Problem s in Ambulatory Patients. " Am. J. Hasp. Pharm .• 31, 348 - 354 (April 1974) 3. Tonneson vs. Paul B. Elder Company. (Cal. Super. Ct., Santa Clara Co ., Docket No . 286356. (March 8. 1974) 4. Bergen. R. . "Darling Case-Revisited, " JAMA., 206, 1875 (Nov. 18, 1968) 5. Accreditation Manual, 7th ed., American Council on Pharmaceutical Education , 14-15 (Jan. 1975)
have gone to school for five to six years, have invested a great deal of time and money, and have certain expectations as to what is awaiting them . One may not always be able to choose his or her specific area of practice, but one should have a fairly good idea of what one will be practicing . If, upon graduation, you suddenly discover that hiring pharmacists do not want idealists who want to change things, it may make you wonder why you ever entered the profession in the first place . Don't misunderstand-I realize that many pharmacists are forward-thinking and innovative and that innovation, creativity and openness are not exclusively (possibly not even mostly) traits associated with youth . In fact, many of the pharmacists I have met who are looking into the future and who are the most open to change and suggestion are those who have been practicing the longest and have seen firsthand the changes that pharmacy has gone through. Is pharmacy practice changing as a result of these young graduates and forwardthinking pharmacists already in practice? I believe that it is. It may be a slow process, and there maya lot of resistance and dragging heels , but the changes occurring now are a result of a great deal of motivated people pushing and guiding our profession to where it stands today . I hope (and believe) that there are enough innovative and exciting people in pharmacy that its practice will expand and become the rewarding, challenging profession that I know it can be for all of us. Will you help? Barbara E. Treadwell SAPhA President, 1976-77
6. Pa tient Medication Profiles. American Pharmaceutica l Association , WaShington, D.C . ( 1975) 7. Maudlin, R. K ., and Yound , L. Y. , Rolodex Drug Consultation Guide, WaShington State Pharmaceutical Association , Seattle , Wash. ( 1975) 8. The United States Pharmac opeia, XIX Revision, U.S . Pharmacopeial Convention , Inc .. Rockvill e, Md. ( 197 5) 9. Eva luations of Drug Interactions, Ameri can Pharmaceutica l Association, Washington, D.C. (197 3) 10. Hansten , P. D., Drug Interactions. 3rd ed., Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia , Pa . ( 1974) 11 . Handbook of Non-Prescription Drugs, 1973 edition, American Pharmac eutica l Assoc iation, WaShington, D.C. ( 1973) 12. Harrison, T. R. , ed, Principles of Internal Medicine, 7th ed ., McGraw-Hili Book Company. New York. 609 ( 1974) ' 13. Boyd, J. R. , etal., " Drug Defaulting," Am. J. Hasp. Pharm .. 31,4 85 - 489 (May 1974) 14. Sharpe, T. R., and Mikeal, R. l. , " Patient Compliance With Antibiotic Regimens," Am. J. Hasp. Pharm., 31 , 479-485 (May 1974) 15. " The White Sheet," Philips Roxane Laboratories Inc ., Columbus, Ohio (Feb. 1975) 16. Rowles, B., and Appelgren, S. E., Clinical Pharmacy Handbook for Patient Counseling. Hamilton Press, Inc ., Hamilton, III. (1975) 17. Boedeker, E. C., and Dauber, J. H.. eds., Manua l o f Medica l Therapeutics , 21 st ed., Little, Brown and Company. Boston. Mass . 20 4 (1974) 18. Ibid. , 374 19. Goicoechea, F. J ., " Procainamide-Induced Systemi c Lupus Erythematosus, " Drug Intell. Glin. Pharm., 7, 271 - 275 (June 19 73)
Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association
Is Pharmacy Practice Changing To Meet the Practitioner's Needs? What are the needs of the pharmacy practitioner? The pharmacy practitioner has the same basic needs as anyone else-the need for food, shelter, warmth and clothing . To obtain these the practitioner needs a source of income. The pharmacy practitioner needs a sense of fulfillment in what she or he is doing, a challenging role to fill, a means of expressing creativity and intellect. Therefore, that needed job must be not merely a job, but a profession. This profession should allow the pharmacist to fulfill his or her needs, should allow her or him to grow and expand in knowledge . As the training and education of emerging pharmacists is evolving, should not the health care setting in which they are to practice also change to accommodate for this professional evolution and to allow for the changing needs of the practitioner? As pharmacy practice changes to accommodate the needs of the changing practitioner, the profession will be upgraded and those of us in it will be afforded a greater respect by both colleagues in the medical profession and by patients. Forging ahead in the health care field will result in a better professional image and a greater professional acceptance . A great deal of the change in the practitioner is a result of the clinical pharmacy training that pharmacy students are receiving. There are two sides to the " clinical pharmacy/pharmacist" issue. Is clinical pharmacy only practiced in specialized health
Patient Medication PrOfile Monitoring
(Continued from page 249) new dimension of service. An integral part of this new dimension is patient medication profile monitoring. The monitoring procedure has great potential for improving drug therapy. Exactly how great the improvement may be depends on several factors1. The data available to the pharmacist 2. The pharmacist 's clinical knowledge 3. The time available to the pharmacist to utilize this clinical knowledge in monitoring proCedures 4. The pharmacist's consistency in performing monitoring procedures 5. The patient's understanding of how to cooperate with the pharmacist to allow for optimum use of the PMP Reapportionment of the pharmacist's time and the development of a professional desire to undertake new responsibilities are essential for this concept to mature . Profile 270
care settings, or is clinical pharmacy a general upgrading of the profession, a total outlook on patient care and the role of the pharmacist in providing the best possible health care no matter what the practice setting-from the corner drugstore to huge teaching hospitals to the hometown mental health clinic to retail chain drugstores (Shock! Do you mean to tell me that patient-oriented pharmacy can be practiced in a chain?!) Your stupefaction should be understandable; after all I haven't seen it either, but maybe I just frequent the wrong chain drugstore and besides, I can hope, can 't I? The very word "clinical" seems so sterile. It projects the image of a God-like creature stalking the halls of institutional health care settings with stethoscope and Code Blue kit at the ready. This image may have imprinted itself so strongly on our minds that we refuse to believe that clinical pharmacy is more than that-it is a new outlook on patient care and a re-orientation (or perhaps a reversion) from a primary focus on drugs to a primary focus on the patient who uses them. In that sense, clinical pharmacy is not practiced exclusively in institutional settings, but in every area of pharmacy practice . Not all graduating students, even from the most clinically oriented 'schools, will be able to find clinical positions, even if they wanted them . They will practice in community pharmacies, clinics, hospitals and chain drugstores. Eventually they will be pharmacy owners, administrators and managers. Are these young pharmacists really expected to relinquish their ideals and goals just so that they can get a job? These people
systems will require modification to accommodate pertinent therapeutic data. It is as important to take the necessary time to effectively monitor a patient's drug profile as it is to type the prescription label properly. Haphazard execution of any of the steps involved in dispensing medications can result in inappropriate drug therapy for the patient. It is of extreme importance to the patient that all functions related to the dispensing of medication and medication information be discharged with accuracy and efficiency . •
References 1. " AGP Releases Statement on Patient Profiles," Academy/ GP, 9 ( 12). 1- 2 (Dec . 1974)
2. Solomon. D. K.• et al., " Use of Medication Profiles To Detect Potential Therapeutic Problem s in Ambulatory Patients. " Am. J. Hasp. Pharm .• 31, 348 - 354 (April 1974) 3. Tonneson vs. Paul B. Elder Company. (Cal. Super. Ct., Santa Clara Co ., Docket No . 286356. (March 8. 1974) 4. Bergen. R. . "Darling Case-Revisited, " JAMA., 206, 1875 (Nov. 18, 1968) 5. Accreditation Manual, 7th ed., American Council on Pharmaceutical Education , 14-15 (Jan. 1975)
have gone to school for five to six years, have invested a great deal of time and money, and have certain expectations as to what is awaiting them . One may not always be able to choose his or her specific area of practice, but one should have a fairly good idea of what one will be practicing . If, upon graduation, you suddenly discover that hiring pharmacists do not want idealists who want to change things, it may make you wonder why you ever entered the profession in the first place . Don't misunderstand-I realize that many pharmacists are forward-thinking and innovative and that innovation, creativity and openness are not exclusively (possibly not even mostly) traits associated with youth . In fact, many of the pharmacists I have met who are looking into the future and who are the most open to change and suggestion are those who have been practicing the longest and have seen firsthand the changes that pharmacy has gone through. Is pharmacy practice changing as a result of these young graduates and forwardthinking pharmacists already in practice? I believe that it is. It may be a slow process, and there maya lot of resistance and dragging heels , but the changes occurring now are a result of a great deal of motivated people pushing and guiding our profession to where it stands today . I hope (and believe) that there are enough innovative and exciting people in pharmacy that its practice will expand and become the rewarding, challenging profession that I know it can be for all of us. Will you help? Barbara E. Treadwell SAPhA President, 1976-77
6. Pa tient Medication Profiles. American Pharmaceutica l Association , WaShington, D.C . ( 1975) 7. Maudlin, R. K ., and Yound , L. Y. , Rolodex Drug Consultation Guide, WaShington State Pharmaceutical Association , Seattle , Wash. ( 1975) 8. The United States Pharmac opeia, XIX Revision, U.S . Pharmacopeial Convention , Inc .. Rockvill e, Md. ( 197 5) 9. Eva luations of Drug Interactions, Ameri can Pharmaceutica l Association, Washington, D.C. (197 3) 10. Hansten , P. D., Drug Interactions. 3rd ed., Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia , Pa . ( 1974) 11 . Handbook of Non-Prescription Drugs, 1973 edition, American Pharmac eutica l Assoc iation, WaShington, D.C. ( 1973) 12. Harrison, T. R. , ed, Principles of Internal Medicine, 7th ed ., McGraw-Hili Book Company. New York. 609 ( 1974) ' 13. Boyd, J. R. , etal., " Drug Defaulting," Am. J. Hasp. Pharm .. 31,4 85 - 489 (May 1974) 14. Sharpe, T. R., and Mikeal, R. l. , " Patient Compliance With Antibiotic Regimens," Am. J. Hasp. Pharm., 31 , 479-485 (May 1974) 15. " The White Sheet," Philips Roxane Laboratories Inc ., Columbus, Ohio (Feb. 1975) 16. Rowles, B., and Appelgren, S. E., Clinical Pharmacy Handbook for Patient Counseling. Hamilton Press, Inc ., Hamilton, III. (1975) 17. Boedeker, E. C., and Dauber, J. H.. eds., Manua l o f Medica l Therapeutics , 21 st ed., Little, Brown and Company. Boston. Mass . 20 4 (1974) 18. Ibid. , 374 19. Goicoechea, F. J ., " Procainamide-Induced Systemi c Lupus Erythematosus, " Drug Intell. Glin. Pharm., 7, 271 - 275 (June 19 73)
Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association