The Role of Pharmacists in Patient-Centred Healthcare
Pharmacy is the scientific and practical study of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.
Pharmacists are the professionals who dispense medication to patients and advise them on their health and medical conditions. They work closely with other health care professionals to assess a patient’s medical condition, drugs they are taking, and medications they have been prescribed by their doctor. They also help patients understand their medications and develop a treatment plan, if necessary.
They dispense prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, herbal products, vitamins, supplements and other nonprescription items. They can also provide guidance and advice on lifestyle, such as eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.
Community pharmacists often see patients on a daily basis. They can also assist with routine checkups and screenings, which are important for a range of conditions. They can also recommend regular vaccinations.
Qualifications for a career in pharmacy vary between countries, but typically, a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy is required. In addition to this, many countries require registration as a community pharmacist and ongoing professional development is required to keep up with changes in the profession.
The pharmaceutical curriculum is designed to integrate the teaching of science and clinical practice, in a way that promotes a healthy balance between these disciplines. However, sometimes this is not achieved due to a clash between scientific knowledge and clinical patient-centred practice. In order to avoid this, the pharmacist educator is faced with the challenge of re-thinking the curriculum in order to integrate both aspects of the profession.
In the literature, there is an increasing number of studies that examine the role of pharmacists in patient-centred healthcare. These studies explore a range of topics, including how a pharmacist’s knowledge and skills impact upon patient outcomes and the development of new medicines.
These studies are often based on a variety of different research methodologies. In particular, they look at the link between a pharmacist’s knowledge and their professionalism. They investigate whether a pharmacist is a knowledge-based practitioner, what types of knowledge they use and how this knowledge can be codified to enable more efficient clinical practice.
Nevertheless, these studies do not take into account the pharmacist’s tacit knowledge which cannot be directly codified. This type of knowledge is important because it allows the pharmacist to make sense of how they use their specialised skills and to work in collaboration with other healthcare professionals to produce useful pharmacy knowledge.
Although the pharmacy profession is often portrayed as being more knowledge-based than other professions, it may be difficult to draw any conclusions on this topic because of the complexities involved in examining the work of a pharmacist in everyday practice. In the paper, we consider a series of factors that contribute to the alleged lack of a professional identity in pharmacy and attempt to provide some counter arguments to this position.
Pharmacy is the scientific and practical study of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines. Pharmacists are the professionals who dispense medication to patients and advise them on their health and medical conditions. They work closely with other health care professionals to assess a patient’s medical condition, drugs they are taking, and medications they have been prescribed by their doctor. They also help patients understand their medications and develop a treatment plan, if necessary. They dispense prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, herbal products, vitamins, supplements and other nonprescription items. They can also provide guidance and advice on lifestyle, such as eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Community pharmacists often see patients on a daily basis. They can also assist with routine checkups and screenings, which are important for a range of conditions. They can also recommend regular vaccinations. Qualifications for a career in pharmacy vary between countries, but typically, a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy is required. In addition to this, many countries require registration as a community pharmacist and ongoing professional development is required to keep up with changes in the profession. The pharmaceutical curriculum is designed to integrate the teaching of science and clinical practice, in a way that promotes a healthy balance between these disciplines. However, sometimes this is not achieved due to a clash between scientific knowledge and clinical patient-centred practice. In order to avoid this, the pharmacist educator is faced with the challenge of re-thinking the curriculum in order to integrate both aspects of the profession. In the literature, there is an increasing number of studies that examine the role of pharmacists in patient-centred healthcare. These studies explore a range of topics, including how a pharmacist’s knowledge and skills impact upon patient outcomes and the development of new medicines. These studies are often based on a variety of different research methodologies. In particular, they look at the link between a pharmacist’s knowledge and their professionalism. They investigate whether a pharmacist is a knowledge-based practitioner, what types of knowledge they use and how this knowledge can be codified to enable more efficient clinical practice. Nevertheless, these studies do not take into account the pharmacist’s tacit knowledge which cannot be directly codified. This type of knowledge is important because it allows the pharmacist to make sense of how they use their specialised skills and to work in collaboration with other healthcare professionals to produce useful pharmacy knowledge. Although the pharmacy profession is often portrayed as being more knowledge-based than other professions, it may be difficult to draw any conclusions on this topic because of the complexities involved in examining the work of a pharmacist in everyday practice. In the paper, we consider a series of factors that contribute to the alleged lack of a professional identity in pharmacy and attempt to provide some counter arguments to this position.