“Don’t you worry, I’ll make sure we will get everything sorted out for you,” spoked the pharmacist to an overwhelmed patient. This was my first day shadowing a pharmacist at the UC Davis Medical Center during my winter break from college. I witnessed my shadowing pharmacist patiently consulted this patient on multiple medications, ensuring he followed the instructions with his take home prescriptions before discharging from the hospital. Over the course of this shadowing experience, I observed how pharmacists collaborated with doctors to provide the best pharmaceutical care and helped facilitate smooth discharge process. I was amazed at their extensive knowledge of not just pharmaceutical drugs but also on different disease states, social …show more content…
Compounded with other health issues, he was prescribed with a myriad of medications, ranging from hypertension and blood thinner to bladder spasm drugs. As I watched my aunt, who is a pharmacist, educating my elderly grandfather on polypharmacy, it sparked my interest in pharmacy as I researched all the medicines to get familiar with grandfather’s treatments. To get some insight and explore if this field is right for me, I applied and was offered the opportunity to shadow a pharmacist at UC Davis Hospital. This gave me a first glimpse of how vital pharmacists are in helping patients to recover and stay healthy, and this experience has solidified my desire to be a …show more content…
This introduced a different side of the pharmacy field where a strong interaction with the public is substantial. As a pharmacy techician, I worked to support pharmacists in greeting patients with prescription orders, processing insurance paperwork, and answering questions and requests. I learned to be patient and resourceful, but constrained in my ability to give medical advice as often times patients ask for advice. Also, this job allowed me the opportunity to learn from pharmacists as they prepare prescriptions, provide advices to doctors and help patients with the most cost effective medications. Nonetheless, the most rewarding aspect of this job has been my ability to assist patients and conversing with them on personal level, ranging from trivial topics like how their days go or casual chats about the recent daily events, to their history of medical troubles. This job has definitely provided me with the real-world experience needed to be successful in the pharmacy field and improved my customer service
Overall, I retain three goals for this clinical day: Safely and efficently administer medication, enhance my nursing/CNA skills, and determine how to implement infection control into a health care setting. This week reflects my assigned time to administer medication in a health care setting for the first time, with a resident who retains nearly twenty medications. I except this experience will be a great learning experience, but it will also subsist slightly stressful. With the assistance of my FOR, my goal is to administer all of my resident 's medications without complications. To ensure that medication safety, I will perform the six medication rights and three checks prior to administration. Along with medication administration, a goal
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).
What is customer service and how does it connect to the soft skills needed to be a pharmacy technician? The topic of customer service has been covered extensively the past couple of weeks, and my perception of it now is extremely different than my perception of it when i started this course. Not only will i talk about my newfound knowledge of customer service in this paper and one the soft skills required to be the best employee possible, but i will also talk about how these two things relate to having the job of being a pharmacy technician.
Polypharmacy among the elderly is a growing concern in U.S. healthcare system. Patients who have comorbities and take multiple medications are at a higher risk for potential adverse drug reactions. There is a great need for nursing interventions in conducting a patient medication review also known as “brown bag”. As nurses obtain history data from patients at a provider visit, the nurse should ask “what medications are you taking?” and the answer needs to include over-the-counter medications as well. If the response does not include any medications other than prescribed meds, it is incumbent upon the nursing professionals to question the patient further to ensure that no over-the-counter medications or supplements are being consumed. This is also an opportunity for the nurse to question about any adverse reactions the patient may be experiencing resulting from medications. Polypharmacy can result from patients having multiple prescribers and pharmacies, and patients continuing to take medications that have been discontinued by the physician. Nurses are in a unique position to provide early detection and intervention for potentially inappropriate medications and its associated adverse drug reactions.
It is this singular fact that very few people realize. A pharmacy technician who receives no formal training is responsible for not just the delivery of a patient’s medication, but also for their bill, their confidential information, and their life. The question now is, how can an uneducated individual be given so much responsibility? Technicians are granted these responsibilities because a pharmacist can not do the job alone. Pharmacists strive to mold each new technician into an employee that will realize what technicians really do.
Polypharmacy among the elderly is a growing concern in U.S. healthcare system. Elderly who have comorbities and take multiple medications are at a higher risk for potential adverse drug reactions. Elderly who take over-the-counter medications, herbs, and supplements without consulting their physician are at risk for adverse reactions associated with polypharmacy. Polypharmacy can result from patients having multiple prescribers and pharmacies, and patients who continue to take medications which have been discontinued by the physician. There is a great need for nursing interventions regarding polypharmacy, including medication reviews also known as “brown bag”. As nurses obtain history data and conduct a patient assessment, it is essential to review the patients’ medications and ask open-ended questions regarding all types of medications in which the patient is taking. In addition, the patient assessment is also an opportunity for the nurse to inquire about any adverse reactions the patient may be experiencing resulting from medications. Nurses are in a unique position to provide early detection and intervention for potentially inappropriate medications and its associated adverse drug reactions.
The greatest influence in our community is our vast elderly population, with an extremely extensive medication list. The average geriatric patient in my community in typically prescribed about 15 to 20 different medications. I have discovered from this course that this polypharmacy is actually a norm for the elder population and not specific to my community. As a practicing nurse, I would like to analyze the use of polypharmacy in the elderly with evidence based practice. I believe there is a problem with the use of polypharmacy in the geriatric population, however at the same time there needs to be a balance because medications have increased our longevity throughout generations.
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...
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
Rovers, John P. A Practical Guide to Pharmaceutical Care. Washington, D.C.: American Pharmaceutical Association, 1998. Print.
Also, it presented me with the opportunity to learn the basics of pharmacy management, how resources were allocated in the hospital based, how economically the hospital adjusts to law and regulations from the board of pharmacy as well from insurance companies. I am certain that what I have learned from this experience will facilitate my continuing education, as it served as an opportunity to learn more about the pharmacist role and involvement in management, in addition to its common role as patient educator. I am certain that if presented with the opportunity to be a leader of a department in a hospital I will be able to evaluate the needs in the hospital and make sure all the appropriate resources are in place. For example, regardless of the size of the hospital I will observe if the amount of personnel staffed is performing at its best and efficiently the tasks required by the hospital. In other words I will evaluate if there is need to staff more people. In addition, I will evaluate if the role that each person is performing is producing the desirable outcomes or if there needs to be a reassignment of tasks. Consideration and implementation of automated systems will take place, especially systems that can help reduce human error. I will make sure to held meetings will all the staff an get input on whether they feel confortable with the new changes or not, and together determine what other resources can be implemented to improve and make the medication distribution process a smother and more efficient process. This ultimately will lead to an effective medication management that meets the requirements of the state and ultimately leads to less medication errors and safe medication implementation to
First, here is some important background information about Pharmacists. A Pharmacist is someone who is trained and licensed to distribute medicinal drugs and to advise on their use. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook Pharmacists do all of the following: "Fill prescriptions, verify proper amounts of medication to give to patients, check whether the prescription will interact negatively with other drugs that a patient is taking or conditions the patient has, instruct patients on how to and when to take a prescribed medicine, Advise patients on potential side effects they may experience from taking the medicine, Advise patients about general health topics, such as diet, exercise, managing stress, and on other issues, such as what equipment or supplies would be best for a health problem, Keep records and do other administrative tasks, Complete insurance forms and work with insurance companies to be sure that patients get the medicine they need, Teach other healthcare practitioners about proper medication therapies for patients, and lastly oversee the work of pharmacy technicians and pharmacists training."() Some pharmacists participate in compounding, where they create medications by mixing ingredients themselves. Pharmacists tha...
I was also responsible for monitoring medication orders and reviewing patient profiles to ensure that the proper drugs and dosages were prescribed and that the pharmacy technician had prepared them properly. In many instances there were mistakes made in the preparation phase and sometimes even before, with incorrect dosages or drugs being prescribed and prepared, which could result in serious adverse effects for the patient. A clinical pharmacist’s role, however, is to make sure that these mistakes never reach the
During my senior year in high school, I started an internship at Walgreens Pharmacy in Brownsville, Texas. This was a unique opportunity for me to find out if I would like to have a career as a pharmacist. So far, not only have I learned about my interest in pharmacy, but I have also learned from Dr. Leonard, one of the pharmacists at Walgreens. Even though I have made many mistakes as a Pharmacy Technician Trainee, Dr. Leonard always motivated me to do better the next time and stay positive. He always has a smile when he is working and looks forward to helping others. As a result of his qualities, Dr. Leonard assists everyone work easier together because there are never arguments. If there is a misunderstanding, Dr. Leonard al...
Pharmacists often work together in a team with other healthcare professional like physicians and nurses. In the process, pharmacists will give advice to them on the selection of medication, by providing the evidences based on the dosage form, the side effects and possible interaction with food of the medication. On the other hand, pharmacists also take part in research and clinical studies. Recently, pharmacists are recruited to conduct pharmacy-based research in pharmacies. (Swanson, 2005)