Interview Pharmacists practice in variety of settings including but not limited to retail pharmacies, hospitals, extended care facilities, academics, and regulatory agencies. Depending on the area of practice, the profession is molded into shape to fit that setting. However, one aspect always remains the same. The safety and the optimal health of the patient is the core target of every pharmacist regardless of areas of pharmacy they practice in. In my perspective, the purpose of this assignment is to explore these different settings as well as to compare the perceptions of the pharmacist and the patient on the pharmacy practice. Carmen Hutter is an institutional pharmacist at Banner Del Webb Medical Center in Sun City West. Dr. Hutter earned …show more content…
Dr. Hutter shared with me that she loves the institutional settings much better than the community pharmacy settings because as the floor (clinical) pharmacist she got to interact with the patients as well as to dose medications. I learned that the pharmacists practicing in the hospital are either staff pharmacists or clinical pharmacists. The clinical pharmacists spend majority of their time with the inpatients on the floor. They participate in the rounds, interact with the physicians, and interact with patients by educating them about the medications they have just been started on. The staff pharmacists do not interact with patients, but rather verify and okay the orders coming from the physicians spending most of their time in the hospital pharmacy. The hospital pharmacists also dose the medications. Based on how the patient is responding to the medication, the pharmacist can either decrease or increase the dose. Although, it is not how it always use to be. Dr. Hutter recalls that when she first started, physicians were not interacting with pharmacists nor relying on their expertise anywhere near to the extent they do now. Additionally, pharmacists dose a lot more medication now than when she …show more content…
Before I interviewed Dr. Hutter, I was under the impression that hospital pharmacists do not interact with the patients at all. The interview completely changed my view on the hospital pharmacy practice. Coming to the Midwestern University, I was set on becoming a community pharmacist because as a retail pharmacy technician, I am familiar with the dynamics of the community pharmacy as well as that I truly enjoy interacting with our patients. Also, I understand where Dr. Lopez-Dee is coming from when he discusses the limited time he has to spend on the patient consultation and that is the side of the retail aspect that really bothers me. I feel that because of the demands on quantity performance the pharmacists do not have an ample time for the elaborate Rx or OTC consultations. Therefore, I am really intrigued to explore the institutional settings since it seems that it is where the pharmacists get to apply their learned knowledge to the maximum effect. Additionally, the patient interview left me with a somber feeling. I feel disappointment about L. N. pharmacy experience. As a future pharmacist I would want my patients to feel comfortable to approach me at any time they have questions about their prescription medication therapy or OTC recommendation. This experience alerts me to being more attentive to patient’s nonverbal cues and encourage them to ask