Healthcare remains a popular career choice for many because of the huge variety of roles it contains. Those who are interested in working on the frontline, for example, can train to become doctors, nurses, mental health practitioners, or physiotherapists. For people who want to work in healthcare but with less direct patient contact, office, and managerial roles are worth considering.
A healthcare position that is crucial to overall patient care is a pharmacist. As integral figures within a healthcare setting, they offer advice about medication and medication plans. In addition, pharmacists use their expertise in medicines to fill prescriptions, administer medication and advise patients on medications.
What career options are open to you as a qualified pharmacist?
Once you have trained to become a fully qualified pharmacist, the potential options in terms of future roles are vast. Even a brief glance at what can you do with a PharmD shows this to be true. The key is to not only gain a qualification like this but to also study at a respected educational institution whose courses are known for being academically rigorous, and that has an excellent reputation within healthcare, such as the University of Findlay.
Many roles you move into as a qualified pharmacist will involve working closely with other healthcare professionals to deliver outstanding patient care. Here are some examples of this in a pharmacist’s day-to-day job.
Pharmacists collaborate closely with physicians and doctors
This is perhaps the best example of how pharmacists can collaborate with other key healthcare professionals to boost patient care. Both physicians and doctors will often prescribe medication to treat patients and rely on the expertise of pharmacists to do so safely.
Pharmacists may offer guidance on the most effective drug for a certain condition or intervene when they see a prescribed medication is something a patient might be allergic to. Pharmacists will also work with doctors to advise on the overall course of medication a patient is on and how any new medication given could impact this. Just as a nutritionist has the knowledge to talk about the benefits of almonds within a diet plan, pharmacists are perfectly placed to advise on medication in a treatment plan.
Social workers and pharmacists
Recent BLS figures on healthcare social workers show that this a popular role in the sector. While the connection between doctors, physicians, and pharmacists may be critical, the guidance that qualified pharmacists provide to social workers in healthcare settings is also key.
But how does this look in practice? It can often involve offering advice to social work professionals who feel their patients may need some sort of medication to ease their situation. The social worker may be helping someone whose home circumstances are leaving them depressed and see medication considered as a short-term fix while the core issues at home are resolved.
By going to a pharmacist for advice, social workers in this instance can get a feel for if this is the right path to take as well as what the best medication options would be.
Physiotherapists and pain management
Physiotherapists themselves are a key part of the healthcare system and help people recover physically from injuries, accidents, or debilitating conditions. This usually involves physical exercises to make the patient’s body stronger over time. In the beginning, these exercises might feel painful, and the patient may need the right medication to manage this.
As a result, physiotherapists will often work with pharmacists to find the right drugs that will help their patients manage pain levels. This not only enables patients to continue with their recovery exercises each day but also improves their quality of life. Collaborating with pharmacists also means the medication prescribed has the fewest side effects.
Mental health practitioners rely on pharmacists for advice
We have already looked at how social workers in healthcare collaborate with pharmacists to help boost outcomes for patients. The same is true of mental health practitioners in the sector, who may be dealing with a patient who needs medication to help their condition.
In this situation, pharmacists can discuss the condition with the mental health worker and offer advice on which medication might have the most positive impact. Pharmacists can also guide mental health colleagues on which medication might cause side effects that make their issues worse and should be avoided. In addition, pharmacists are also able to look at what medication plan someone is following at the moment and pinpoint if this is causing mental health problems.
Pharmacists and senior management – a key relationship
Pharmacists work closely with a number of frontline healthcare professionals to help improve patient care levels. They also play a hugely influential role behind the scenes and provide expert guidance to senior management around future drug policies.
Common examples of this include advising on levels of key medication the facility has in stock or should have in stock, recommending which emerging medicines should become part of their institution’s medication policy, and flagging any issues around medications that are being used currently.
By consulting with senior management over issues like this, pharmacists are able to keep patients being treated within a facility much safer. It also means that only the most effective medications are used to help patients recover quicker.
Pharmacists work within broader healthcare teams
Although the above shows some relevant examples of how pharmacists may collaborate with individual healthcare professionals in specific situations, they can also work with a range of colleagues as key parts of healthcare teams.
Due to this, pharmacists can be involved in larger-scale meetings with multiple colleagues to discuss a patient’s treatment plan. This enables them to provide their input on any medication that may be prescribed and provide their opinion when a review of the patient’s medication is required. By working on a broader scale within healthcare in this manner, pharmacists work with multiple healthcare professionals on a regular basis.
Pharmacists work closely with other healthcare professionals
The traditional view of pharmacists is that of someone who receives prescriptions from doctors and administers medication to patients. This role is commonly seen as one that offers advice and education to patients about medication. In truth, modern pharmacists do much more than that, and the close working links they have with other professionals in healthcare show this.
