My Role in the Community Pharmacy as a Student

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Obtaining clinical experience during my externship period exceeded my expectations, the first-hand experience it's really different than what the books said, my clinical experience takes place in two different ways, first would be the direct interactions with a variety of people, and second would be the steps of dispensing medication process which is through the daily activity in a community pharmacy. The advantage is that it exposes the student to a wide range of patients and in the process acquires knowledge of running the pharmacy under the supervision of the pharmacist.

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It is also anticipated that the pharmacy students on attachment are participating in the procedure taking place every day within the medical facility. My expectation during the attachment was not only limited to the patients interactions but also the therapeutic and monitoring of drugs.

Last challenge was that I joined the internship with theoretical knowledge why the practice needed some forms of practical skills. My greatest strength and inspiration came from the fact that most of the activities were known to me through learning in class and reading books.

Advantages enjoyed by me as a student were eventually being able to put the theory we learned in class into practice. The interpersonal skills of the students are considerably boosted by the program as they can interact daily with the customers unlike what they simply learned of in class. The skills are also encouraged when we learn practically the vast amount of available options for some of the medical conditions like the cold. Learning of topics like pharmacy laws were great booster too when it came to the management and practice during my internship; I know a lot of theory which I quickly implemented.

The experience during the attachment was very enjoyable, and it acted as a way of appreciating the importance of pharmacy in the field healthcare. Students under attachment are given the opportunity to work as a team. A wide range of tasks is assigned to the intern’s students including handling the prescription, dispensing medicine, guaranteeing that the medication is used according to prescription. Also, the students are expected to collaborate with other professionals in the healthcare who are involved in the daily running of the pharmacy. It is also anticipated that the pharmacy students on attachment are participating in the procedure taking place every day within the medical facility. My expectation during the attachment was not only limited to the patients interactions but also the therapeutic and monitoring of drugs.

The challenges I faced were two, one engaging in activities that are entirely unrelated to a pharmacy like tagging the prices on medicine and handling cash. I also thought I would escape from the hustle of being a student and relax during the attachment, the opposite happened, I was engaged throughout the attachment. Last challenge was that I joined the internship with theoretical knowledge why the practice needed some forms of practical skills. My greatest strength and inspiration came from the fact that most of the activities were known to me through learning in class and reading books.

My primary professional skill developed throughout the program is prescription and dispensing of the drugs. Also I would spend most of the time with the pharmacist learning from his long experience of dispensation and learning how to handles angry patients. I am also convinced that my characteristic of teamwork and being a team player was enhanced.

My plans on improving on the prescription and dispensing skills I gained during industrial attachment include reading a lot of books and journals on the same field. I would also like to dedicate some hours in a week to volunteer in one of the community clinics around while getting my licensure. For the characteristics I developed, it is my wish to act as a team player and a team member in all the activities I will undertake whether related to pharmacy or not.

I have noticed many changes in myself, skills and abilities since starting the fieldwork experience, for example I learned and practiced new technologies and software such as labeling and prescription Software’s. Also, I was not able to do the following stuff before the internship Maintaining inventory, ordering medication, and understanding of medication labeling I am more aware of drugs interactions, uses, and classifications. Also, I witnessed improving my communication skills, verbal and nonverbal. Understanding most of the phases of pharmacy operations were my big accomplishment in that experience.

Helping a pharmacist dispense prescription medication might seem like an easy task, but it requires immense precision and detail. As a pharmacy technician, my role is to ensure medications are filled correctly in a specified window of time. One of the most challenging aspects of the job comes down to maintaining knowledge on all the drugs generic names as well as the brand names also the use of these drugs!

To avoid the first challenge which is memorizing the daily use medications names I’m trying to search 3 drugs a day and trying to learn everything about these drugs such as generic & brand names, the use of the three drugs, their interactions, and their classification.

Another challenge is interacting with patients who are not always feeling their best. The majority of our customers that I'm going to be dealing with are sick, whether it is a cold or sinus infection or a much more serious, chronic condition. So it takes a lot of compassion, empathy, and patience to make each patient happy or at least satisfy.

From my little experience in the work field, I am experiencing a very challenging incident every day with the new patients; we all know the new patient is different than an old patient, we need time to create a profile to that patient, taking information, and tracking their previous medication then we start filling the medication and waiting for the pharmacist to check the drugs; then we dispense to them, all these steps have to be done in a minimum of 20 minutes. Most of the patients need their medications in a fast time, I'm trying to explain to them the cause for being waiting a long time to get their medication but some of them getting nervous my role is to step back from the technical tasks that I'm doing and listen to what the patient has to say. My job is to respond in a way that does not discount a patient's feelings, but acknowledges them.