Term Papers on A Look At A Career In Community Pharmacy

Term Paper Title	A Look At A Career In Community Pharmacy
# of Words	2043
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	8.17

A Look At A Career In Community Pharmacy

     "...Pharmacists are the principal resource to patients and other health professionals in assuring appropriate use of, and optimal therapeutic outcomes from medications" (Shall I Study Pharmacy 1).  Pharmacists are health care professionals responsible for the dispensation of prescription and non-prescription medications.  Many pharmacists are consultants to the general public along with physicians and other health care providers.  One of the earliest known pharmacists in the United States was Governor Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Pharmacy education began in the United States at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, founded in 1821 and is still operating today (Cosgrove 71).  A pharmacist must complete much training, be licensed, and take an oath before he/she can become a pharmacist.  The commitment of a pharmacist, as stated in the professional commitment statement is a life long responsibility to the people of the community in which that person works:
          The principal goal of pharmaceutical care is to achieve positive outcomes from the use           of medication which improves patient’s quality of life.  These outcomes include: cure           of a disease, elimination or reduction of the symptoms of a disease, arresting or slowing           of a disease process, preventing of disease, diagnosis of disease, or desired alterations in           physiological processes, all with minimum risks to the patient (Shall I Study
          Pharmacy 1).
The pharmacist must  perform numerous tasks sometimes under unfavorable conditions, and must acquire many skills through much training.
          As I look to choose a direction for my life, I know I want to attend college.  I am interested in a career where I can directly help people. I am also interested in the medical professions but do not wish to become a doctor.  I feel that the career I choose should be something I greatly enjoy doing as I will probably do this for the rest of my life.  I am a very dedicated, hard-worker with excellent social skills and a continuous desire to attain knowledge about various subjects.  A pharmacist must be dependable, conscientious, scrupulous in their handling of the drugs, sympathetic to their customers, and above all ethical  (Hayes 656).  A pharmacist must have exceptional math skills and scientific knowledge. They must also be realistic, wanting to see immediate results of their work; curious and motivated, working  hard to find concrete solutions independently; sociable, working directly with the customers to answer their questions and concerns; artistic and sensitive, showing sympathy and compassion toward each customer; and most importantly conventional, working with details, while submitting and keeping neat, organized forms and charts (McKenzie 12).
     As a pharmacist, one must have many skills to successfully complete a day’s work.  A pharmacist must be good with people and is expected to advise not only customers but physicians on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of the medication they may prescribe.  To do this each pharmacist must have a great deal of knowledge and understanding of the use, composition, and effect of the drugs they will be dispensing  ("Pharmacists" 168).   A pharmacist's job is now made easier by computer programs that help to alert them of interactions and side effects of the drugs they dispense. To successfully use this, though, a pharmacist must also have good computer skills.  Pharmacists must be especially meticulous in their dispensation of medication.  They must carefully read and decipher the prescriptions and counsel the patient as to the correct dosage and use of the medication.  They also must be able to answer any

question that a patient may have about either prescription or non-prescription medications (Cosgrove 72).  Besides dispensing medication and informing patients about the drugs, pharmacists are expected to do a lot more.  They must have accurate records of customers; complete and submit insurance forms, inventory tracking reports, and financial record...

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