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Importance of communication skills in health care
Importance of good communication skills in healthcare
Importance of communication skills in health care
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I learned a lot from this experience. As I mentioned earlier first time when I saw pharmacist doing medication reconciliation I felt it is difficult task to do and hence I started getting more information about medication reconciliation from my friends and pharmacist whenever I got a chance. I prepared myself before I expose myself in this area, which helped me to gain more confidence when I was performing medication reconciliation with standardized patient. I learnt how important is Pharmacist role in finding and solving medication related discrepancies. From this activity, I learnt that it is very important to communicate effectively with patients and other health care providers. If I am unable to communicate properly I will not be able to
Working in the pharmaceutical industry, there are different types of environments you could possibly work in. There are chain pharmacies, like any kind of grocery store or CVS. There are franchise pharmacies, which are also known as apothecaries. Also, there are community pharmacies, which are also known as retail pharmacies. Some of them are independent pharmacies, which is usually owned by a pharmacist or a group of pharmacists.. There are hospital pharmacies, in which are in the hospital. There are many more different types, these are only a few.
Med-Pharmex Incorporated is known nationally and abroad as a pharmaceutical manufacturer of animal-related products. Before gaining fame worldwide, the business began its journey to success as a small lab in 1983, which slowly grew over time. Since then, the company maintains its main goal, and that is to produce drugs that promote the health of companion animals, such as dogs, cats, and horses, as well as food-producing animals, such as pork and chickens. To ensure legal responsibility, the company’s manufacturing process is examined by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Med-Pharmex works closely with veterinary clinics who purchase their life-saving drugs and represent them in the market. Despite manufacturing drugs, the
Nurses were the professional group who most often reported medication errors and older patients were those most often affected in the medication errors reports analyzed for this study (Friend, 2011). Medication error type’s revealed omitted medicine or dose, wrong dose, strength or frequency and wrong documentation were the most common problems at Site A where the traditional pen and paper methods of prescription were used; and wrong documentation and omission were the most common problems associated with medication errors at Site B where the electronic MMS was introduced (Friend, 2011). Reports of problems such as wrong drug, wrong dose, strength or frequency, quantity, wrong route, wrong drug and omitted dose were less frequent at Site B (Friend, 2011). The reduced incidence of omission errors at Site B supports suggestions that an advantage of the MMS is easy identification of patient requirements at each drug round time slot. Despite the finding of less omission errors at site B where the MMS had been introduced, there was a relatively high frequency in the incident reports of medication errors related to both omission and wrong dose, strength and frequency at both sites (Friend, 2011).
Tony and Sorrell King had no idea when they moved from Virginia to their new home in
Unver, V., Tastan, S., & Akbayrak, N. (2012). Medication errors: Perspectives of newly graduated and experienced nurses. International Journal Of Nursing Practice, 18(4), 317-324. doi:10.1111/j.1440-172X.2012.02052.x
Some method such as audits, chart reviews, computer monitoring, incident report, bar codes and direct patient observation can improve and decrease medication errors. Regular audits can help patient’s care and reeducate nurses in the work field to new practices. Also reporting of medication errors can help with data comparison and is a learning experience for everyone. Other avenues that has been implemented are computerized physician order entry systems or electronic prescribing (a process of electronic entry of a doctor’s instructions for the treatment of patients under his/her care which communicates these orders over a computer network to other staff or departments) responsible for fulfilling the order, and ward pharmacists can be more diligence on the prescription stage of the medication pathway. A random survey was done in hospital pharmacies on medication error documentation and actions taken against pharmacists involved. A total of 500 hospital were selected in the United States. Data collected on the number of medication error reported, what types of errors were documented and the hospital demographics. The response rate was a total of 28%. Practically, all of the hospitals had policies and procedures in place for reporting medication errors.
Implementing technology in a clinical setting is not easy and cannot be successful without a well-organized system. It is important that healthcare providers understand the electronic medication administration record (eMAR) and its role in improving patient safety. One of the most significant aspects of healthcare is the safety of our patients. Medication errors account for 44,000-98,000 deaths per year, more deaths than those caused by highway accidents or breast cancer. Several health information technologies help to reduce the number of medication errors that occur. Once of these technologies is bar-code-assisted medication administration (BCMA). These systems are designed to ensure that the right drug is being administered via the right
Nurse’s should have a strong pharmaceutical knowledge background and be aware of the potential harm a medication could cause. In the process of medication administration, registered nurses are responsible to “determine that each medication order is clear, accurate, current and complete”. Medications should be withheld when a medication order is incomplete, illegible, ambiguous or inappropriate; with concerns being clarified with the prescriber (CNO, 2015)”. The critical care nurse demonstrated ineffective communication, which was shown by failing to ask the physician for clarification. Another instance of miscommunication is during medication reconciliation, which is a formal process in which healthcare providers work together to ensure that patient medication information is communicated consistently and accurately across transitions of care (Etchells, 2012).
Tzeng, H., Yin, C., & Schneider, T. E. (2013). Medication Error-Related Issues In Nursing Practice. MEDSURG Nursing, 22(1), 13-50.
Another role of a nurse is to be the patient’s advocate and “eyes and ears” of the doctor. The nurse gathers first hand information from the patient and reiterates it to the doctor. The nurse and doctor work together to find a diagnosis. Verbal communication between doctors and nurses are essential to provide a successful outcome for the patient. Barrett, Selman, and Thomas (2005), believe verbal communication between nurses and doctors is viewed as necessary for “joint decision making based upon shared professional perspective’ which enables those involved to articulate their own perspectives, listen to the views of others and negotiate outcomes’” (as cited in Astbury, 2008). If there is weak verbal communication or tension between doctors and nurses, the workplace can become negative. A negative relationship between doctors and nurses and poor verbal communication can cause frustration and potentially harmful outcomes for the patient. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a list of the leading causes of death in the United States and deaths due to medical errors was third (Neese, 2015). In 2013, The Joint Commission estimated 80% of these cases were due to miscommunication (Neese, 2015). Pratt reflects on how in her years, she had to deal with plenty miscommunications regarding medications, especially when patients are discharged (C. Pratt, personal
Medication errors made by medical staff bring about consequences of epidemic proportions. Medical staff includes everyone from providers (medical doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants) to pharmacists to nurses (registered and practical). Medication errors account for almost 98,000 deaths in the United States yearly (Tzeng, Yin, & Schneider, 2013). This number only reflects the United States, a small percentage in actuality when looking at the whole world. Medical personnel must take responsibility for their actions and with this responsibility comes accountability in their duties of medication administration. Nurses play a major role in medication error prevention and education and this role distinguishes them as reporters of errors.
The most common kind of medication error is administering the wrong medication or giving wrong doses. A medication error is any error that happens to patients whether they suffer any harmful results or not. Inappropriate nurses-to-patients ratio should be taken into consideration because it can cause medication errors. A new study shows that every year about 210,000-400,000 people who were admitted to the hospital die due to medication error; it also shows that is is “the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer”(MacDonald). For instance, an interview was done with Nurse Carol, a retired nurse; she said that she made a medication error while administering medication to one of her patients. She said that she was rushing and accidentally gave Cozaar to one of her patients instead of Colace. Cozaar is often used for high blood pressure and Colace is for constipation. She said her patient’s pressure dropped very low after taking the medication; she realized then that she gave the patient the wrong medication. Nurse Carol also said that if she did no...
while transferring patients between units. [After reviewing these events], “The Joint Commission identified “Improve the Safety of Using Medications” as one of the 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (Cleveland Clinic, 2009, p.1). In relation to this safety goal, hospitals created a medication reconciliation form that resides in the patient’s ch...
With the increased cost of manufacturing, pharmaceutical companies have been divesting in their smaller or less profit making operations and focus on large segments. Many Pharmaceutical companies sold their manufacturing sites to contract manufacturing organizations. The dynamics of interfacing with contract manufacturing organization added intricacy in pharmaceutical supply chain network of pharmaceutical companies.
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