BUILDING YOURSELF AS AN EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVER
Pharmacy is built firmly on the concept of technical rationality. The idea states that practitioners are primarily problem solvers who select rational ways to serve particular purposes.
If I can use two words to describe what pharmaceutical care is, then I will say it is a RESPONSIBLE PROVISION. We provide treatment when we dispense medicines; it does not become pharmaceutical care until when we ensure that our dispensing is done responsibly. I do not want to bore you with the long definition of pharmaceutical care that has been repeated over and over, and has been ringing in the years of all pharmacists who want to understand what pharmaceutical care is; and how it can be implemented in their daily practice so that they can make the difference they have always striven to. It goes like this: Pharmaceutical Care is the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve a patient’s quality of life.
Pharmaceutical care is essentially a process and is as follows:
Step ONE: Identify any DRUG-RELATED PROBLEM (actual or potential);
Step TWO: Resolve the DRUG-RELATED PROBLEMS that actually develop.
STEP THREE: Prevent all potential DRUG-RELATED PROBLEMS from developing
We usually start out with a lot of energy as rigorous ‘young’ practitioners, who are ready to solve well-formed problems (those that should be straight forward if all other practitioners did their part right) by applying theory and technique from systematic and scientifically derived knowledge. However as we become oriented to the ‘fuzzy” problems of daily practice, we find that the problems we encounter are not that straight-forward but rather “messy indeterminate situations”.
It does not take long for us, novice practitioners, to learn that we really don’t know how to solve many problems we face in practice. We learn quickly that defining the actual problem that needs to be solved is difficult and sometimes results in no clear solution.
Working Groups have been used in medicine (and pharmacy) for a long time to crack very important issues of practice that were not clear-cut from the outset. All of us know that all Cancer Chemotherapy protocols/regimens are product of focused Working Groups (or if you like Study Groups). A Pharmaceutical Care Working Group is an idea that has already taken off, and a handful of dedicated volunteer pharmacists will see to it that it changes the practice of clinical pharmacy in Kenya.
We will start from scratch and build working systems that pharmacists will rely on to practice. The moment we realized that no one but us can build our practice was the moment we decided to bid farewell to ambiguity. If only the vigour shown by these patriotic Kenyans can have a snowballing effect on every Kenyan pharmacist involved in patient care, and shake each and every barrier that has stood on our road to Pharmaceutical care!
The Pharmaceutical Care Working Group will provide a systematic method to collect and assess the clinical information used to determine patient’s problems and health needs. With repetition and practice, you can become proficient at “framing” the patient’s problems, achieving concordance with your own professional viewpoint and the patient. That is why it is called Pharmacy Practice!
