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From: L. L. PharmD candidate, Class of 2007 - The
University of Illinois at Chicago College of
Pharmacy uic.edu 03/01/05
What
Contribution Will I Make to My Profession As A Pharmacist When I Graduate?
The most important effect I can have on my patients will be to
empower them to take an active role in their own healthcare. In
order to accomplish this, I must first be able to build a
comfortable relationship with my patients. For me, I know
that impatient physicians or indifferent healthcare providers can
make me feel unintelligent, belittled, and uncomfortable with asking
questions. I aim to be trustworthy, knowledgeable, and honest
in regards to my patients and their concerns. I believe the
highest quality healthcare is best achieved is best achieved
when physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals
work with a collaborative goal of sharing their knowledge to best
serve the patient.
My experiences as a patient have nurtured an appreciation for the
importance of the patient-pharmacist relationship, and I realize that
providing excellent healthcare is facilitated by a culturally
sensitive, empathetic, and compassionate attitude. This helps
to develop a good rapport with patients and gives them a more
positive view of the healthcare profession as a whole. I
feel that is especially important to teach my patients about wellness
and prevention so they can make appropriate lifestyle changes to
achieve the outcomes they desire. By encouraging my patients to be
familiar with their disease states and the options available to them,
I can help them be advocates for not only themselves, but for their
family members as well.
With the technology availbale today, pharmacists are able to spend
more time with their patients than in past years. I intend to
use clinical knowledge to share important information with patients
in a respectful and understanding manner that they can relate
to. Finally, quality assurance is an extremely important
issue in the medical field today. I will deliver high quality
pharmaceutical care by reducing drug dosage errors and adverse
effects with appropriate medication monitoring and counseling.
In these ways, I hope to provide my future patients with the best
degree of pharmaceutical care possible.
I hope to contribute to the profession of pharmacy by making
constant improvements and by committing to lifelong learning and
professional development. By continuously developing new medication
or disease state management programs and reaching out to the
community, we can create niches for pharmacists and responsibilities
as the profession evolves. I aim to encourage young
people to consider pharmacy as their profession, and I plan to
constantly encourage practicing pharmacists to be active in the
profession by acting as role models and mentors, by lobbying for
various legislative issues, by acting as leaders of professional
pharmacy organizations and by continuing to learn what's new in the
world of pharmacy. By continually striving for improvement, we not
only enhance the profession during our lifetime, but we also ensure
that there will be a place and need for pharmacists for many years to come. |
