Understanding the Health Care Professional (1)
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Dec 6, 2023
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Understanding the Health Care Professional
Grand Canyon University
HLT 418
Understanding the Health Care Professional
There are numerous healthcare professionals that some of us may not be aware of. In a
hospital setting, each person is responsible for a particular task they perform to ensure that one
person does not become overwhelmed. Therefore, in a hospital setting, it is as if a whole universe
of healthcare professionals comes together to ensure the safety of lives. This paper will provide a
more in-depth analysis of two healthcare professions to better understand their specific roles and
functions and their contribution to the health care system. The two healthcare providers we will
be discussing are the doctor and pharmacist. This paper will discuss the roles and responsibilities
of these providers and how they collaborate to ensure the best and most positive patient
experience.
Becoming a physician is a highly stressful process. It involves many years of educational,
clinical, and financial requirements. To become a doctor, an individual must have completed
their undergraduate studies at an accredited medical school and be awarded a degree such as a
Doctor of Medicine, MD, or Doctor of Osteopathy, DO (Road to Becoming a Physician | MD
Program, n.d.). However, to be accepted into the Graduate School of Medicine, an individual
must perform exceptionally well in their undergraduate course of study with a high GPA. Then,
they must go through the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) to apply to the medical
school of their choice. Upon completion of their medical school, an individual can begin their
internship in clinical rotations, progress to residency, and ultimately sit for their medical exam.
Pharmacists are professionals who are responsible for the safe and effective
administration of medications. If you’ve ever received a prescription from your physician, there’s
a high likelihood that you’ve interacted with a Community Pharmacist when picking up
medication at your hospital or community pharmacy. However, the responsibilities of
pharmacists have evolved beyond the mere counting and dispensing of medication (How to
Become a Pharmacist, n.d.). Pharmacists typically pursue a doctorate degree, which requires
years of study, beginning in high school and continuing through undergraduate and graduate
school. During this time, they must also take a pre-initiative test to ensure they are eligible for
admission into a school or program. This test is commonly referred to as the "Pharmacology
College Admissions Test" (PCAT). Upon graduation from graduate school and successful
completion of a PharmD program, pharmacists must take two licensing exams. These exams are
commonly referred to as North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam "NAPLEX" and
Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam "MPJE" or a jurisprudence exam, depending on the
state (All Allied Health Schools Staff, 2016). All of this study can take anywhere from six to
eight years, with no breaks from high school. A pharmacist works as a supervisor of the
pharmacy technician and must review the prescription for the patient before allowing the
medication to be dispensed to the patient. Additionally, the pharmacist must teach the patient
about side effects, storage, frequency, and the medicine's effects on the patient.
Type of Setting
A physician may have a broad range of work environments in which he or she can
practice his or her medications, including but not limited to federal government offices, public
health agencies, community and immigrant health centers, educational institutions, and
correctional facilities. More and more physicians are partners/salaried employees who work in
both hospitals as well as outpatient settings, including group practices, independent outpatient
care clinics, diagnostic imaging centers, etc. (Shi & Singh, 2021). In recent years, more and more
physicians have established their own practice and would hire another doctor for their practice,
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which is also known as private practice, in addition to being employed exclusively in hospitals
(Henry, 2019).
In the pharmacy field, the majority of their jobs are in community settings such as
grocery shops, drug stores, and general merchandise stores. They are also employed in healthcare
settings such as hospitals and other medical facilities. In addition to dispensing medications
prescribed by physicians and other medical professionals, their responsibilities include educating
patients about drug products and acting as specialists on particular drugs, drug reactions, and
generic substitution (Shi and Singh, 2021).
Expanding roles of allied health
As medicines and medical technologies continue to grow, we need a certified and specialist
person to manage these new innovations. In the past, the medical field was mainly associated
with doctors, nurses, and surgeons. However, you can’t acquire and remember all the anatomy,
new and old medicines, operating equipment or maintaining it all. A team of allied health experts
who have studied & trained for their specific role that they can take and be the best at it. As
health sciences advanced and medical care became increasingly complex, doctors found it hard
to spend time with their patients. Time constraints and the constraints on learning new skills
created a need for training other constraints and the limitations on learning new skills led to the
need for training other professionals who can serve as an “adjutant” or “substitute” for a
physician or nurse
(Shi and Singh, 2021)
. As more physicians prefer to work independently or as
a “self-employed” physician, they will build their private practice and will need an assistant who
can help them follow up with patients. This can be done by adding nurse practitioners or
physician assistants who are able to increase patient volume, increase available hours, or add
new services like wellness programs (Singleton & Miller, 2015). The same is true for
pharmacists. Pharmacies have pharmacy technicians who have their prescriptions ready for
patients so that the pharmacist has more patients and more time to communicate with the
patient’s physician about a new prescription that has been ordered.
Workforce shortage affected on each profession
During the current pandemic, the health care industry across the nation is facing a staffing
shortage due to the very high number of patients coming in with this pandemic. It is difficult to
handle staffing issues when this pandemic has not happened yet. In 2006, a WHO report found
that 57 countries were facing health workforce crises, meaning each country had less than 23
health workers per 10,000 people
(Shi and Singh, 2021)
. As the number of patients with chronic
diseases or illnesses increases, the approach to treatment will be different from acute diagnosis as
long-term treatments will be needed. The shortage of staff has been having a huge impact on
each profession because of the high number of patients. When nurses are unable to provide the
best care to the patient, they may miss important information that the patient needs to report to
their physician
(Henry, 2019).
This will lead to a decrease in patient satisfaction and may even
result in an increase in mortality. When providers are exhausted due to overwork, calling out due
to illness will make it even more difficult for staffing1. If one staff member calls out due to
illness, then the entire unit will be overloaded with patients.
Physicians and pharmacists work together and share information about patients. The
doctor will be the primary caregiver who is responsible for the patient's care. Treatment,
diagnosis, laboratory monitoring, therapeutic and prognosis will all be ordered for the patient by
the physician, nurses and allied health professionals working together to complete these orders
and assist the doctor in treating and monitoring the patient
(Henry, 2019).
The pharmacist knows
the medicines the best. When a physician orders a medication for the patient the pharmacist must
review the patient’s chart and medical history to see if the medication that was prescribed for the
patient is right for the patient or can recommend the medication that would be better for the
physician. Each health care provider understands their role and boundaries where they
collaborate as a team in suggesting treatments or therapy to the patient.
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References
Henry, T. (2019). Employed physicians now exceed those who own their practices. American
Medical Association. Retrieved 6 December 2020, from https://www.ama-
assn.org/about/research/employed-physicians-now-exceed-those-who-own-their-
practices.
How to Become a Pharmacist (Requirements & Salary). (n.d.). All Allied Health Schools.
Retrieved November 11, 2023, from https://www.allalliedhealthschools.com/blog/how-to
become-a-pharmacist
How to Become a Pharmacist. (n.d.). Nurse.org. Retieved on November 11, 2023
https://nurse.org/healthcare/how-to-become-pharmacist/
Road to Becoming a Physician | MD Program. (n.d.). Medicine.uiowa.edu. Retrieved on
November 11, 2023 https://medicine.uiowa.edu/md/admissions/road-becoming-
physician
Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2021).
Delivering health care in america: a systems approach
(8th ed.).
Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Singleton, T., & Miller, P. (2015). The Physician Employment Trend: What You Need to Know.
Family practice management, 22(4), 11-15.