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Spring
Break 02.
To RxLink - As a
Pharmacist, how will I make a difference in the profession?
Back in August
of 1998, I matriculated into the Doctorate of Pharmacy Program at the
University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy in Chapel Hill. At
that time, my perception of the role of pharmacists centered about
the traditional role of drug dispensing. However, after participating
in the program, I have gained a better appreciation of the
pharmacist's role, both present and future. Currently, the U.S. leads
the world in terms of “health” care costs. Prescription
misuse has resulted in staggering expenditures of over $76 billion
and 119,000 deaths a year. Drug misadventure presents a problem in
both pharmacy practice and health care. In order to make a difference
in the pharmacy profession, I must recognize the pharmacy practice
dilemma, address the dilemma through a personal professional mission
statement, and finally proceed by acting on the mission statement.
Today's
dilemma in pharmacy practice can be characterized based on
individuality, profession, and public perception as it relates to
pharmaceutical care. As William Zellmer, once stated, “The
nature of our discipline is the sum total of the inner drives –
that is, the souls of individual practioners. If reshaping the
profession is the goal,then the target for action must be the souls
of individual practioners.”
In this
respect, Zellmer is challenging individual pharmacists to cultivate
their soul or character in order to save our profession. Furthermore,
in Opportunities and responsibilities in pharmaceutical care, Hepler
and Strand state, “To critically reflect on pharmacy's future
opportunities and responsibilities as a clinical profession, it is
instructive to briefly examine the three major periods in twentieth
century pharmacy: the traditional (apothecary), transitional
(clinical pharmacy practice), and patient-care (pharmaceutical care)
stages of development.” Currently, the pharmacy profession is in
a state of limbo. Some pharmacists are cultivating the soul of
pharmacy by adopting the philosophy of pharmaceutical care. On the
other extreme are pharmacists satisfied with the status quo. Then
there are those who fall somewhere in between. Finally, as one
lobbyist reflected to a pharmacist, “Pharmacists are easy to
lobby against.” When questioned why, the lobbyist responded,
“The pharmacy profession as a whole can never come to a
consensus.” Does this example represent the public perception
that our profession remains splintered? In addition, the public
cannot perceive the pharmacist as both tradesman and professional.
Sequentially, the individual influences the profession, which in turn
affects public perception.
My mission
statement is: As a proactive, open-minded pharmacist, I will promote
pharmacy care through covenantal relationships between profession,
community, and myself in an effort to advance both the profession and
the welfare of society. In analyzing the mission statement, key words
include proactive, open-mind, pharmacy care, and covenantal
relationship. Proactive means taking responsibility for one's life
and being accountable for one's actions. Having an open-mind means
seeing beyond personal paradigms. A paradigm is an inherited or
learned mode of thought that may be unconsciously utilized to filter
information. Often times, our professionalization leads to a paradigm
paralysis that prevents us from seeing alternative ways to address
health care issues. Pharmacy care or pharmaceutical care can be
defined as accepting responsibility for the patient's welfare by
utilizing pharmaceutical services in an interdisciplinary manner that
balances quality processes with economics. A covenantal relationship
between pharmacist and community (patients) denotes professionalism,
intimacy, and trust. A contractual relationship on the other hand is
more or less a business arrangement lacking such intimacy and trust.
Taken altogether in context with the mission statement the end goal
represents an alignment of the pharmacy profession and public health needs.
As
aforementioned our profession is the sum of the inner drives - that
is, the souls of individual practitioners. The implementation of my
mission plan represents my individuality that contributes to the
nature of our practice. In the hospital setting, I will be involved
in pharmacist interventions, interdisciplinary care teams, and P&T
Committees. Inherent with increasing number of prescriptions is the
increased chance for drug misadventures. Documentation of pharmacist
interventions promotes the importance of pharmaceutical care as well
as the pharmacy profession. Participating in an interdisciplinary
team will foster an appreciation of the pharmacist's role in disease
state management by other health care professions. I will be able to
retrieve, analyze and apply published literature towards
evidence-based discussion involving the interdisciplinary team. In
addition, as part of an interdisciplinary team, I will establish a
more visible presence with the patients. Hence, the pharmacist gains
recognition by both the patients and the other health care
professions. As part of the P&T Committee, I will be able to
promote pharmaceutical care and continuous quality improvements.
Analogous to the relationship between pharmaceutical care and the
concept of continuous quality improvement at the patient level, the
mission statement likewise must undergo such a process at the
individual level. |
