Educational Activities of Hospital Pharmacists

Continuing education is the primary means by which practitioners can gain the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain and improve their performance.
The purpose of continuing education for health professionals includes the improvement of patient care, health maintenance, and the enrichment of health careers.
Every practitioner should assume personal responsibility for maintaining and improving their professional competence through lifelong, self-directed education.
Practitioners often require assistance in identifying gaps between actual and desired performance, setting educational objectives, establishing their relative priorities, and selecting learning activities that will contribute most toward achieving their objectives.

As roles emerge and competency requirements change, hospital pharmacists must commit to improving their professional competence because they are assuming increased responsibilities in these new roles.
With recent advancements in hospital pharmacy practices, pharmacists are expected to keep pace with rapid changes in pharmaceutical care as well as stay informed about new laws and relevant rules and regulations.

Objectives:

To help hospital pharmacists develop a more comprehensive understanding of the importance and methods of continuous education and encourage them toward these goals.
To help evaluate their professional performance, identify areas needing improvement, and set realistic, attainable educational goals.
To provide hospital pharmacists with information on regional and national resources that will help them achieve their educational objectives.
To assist in selecting educational resources that will best meet their individual needs.
To provide continuing education resources in various formats and media best suited for the subject matter and the needs of a broad range of learners.
To assist in evaluating the effectiveness of continuing education experiences.

Providers:

In-service training of health workers.
Training office of the institution.
FDA and regional drug regulation offices for updates/information on drugs/medicines.
Department of Health (DOH).
Organizations/associations such as PPhA, PSHP, DOH League of Pharmacists, PAPPI, and other allied professions offering continuing education.

The term "supportive personnel" collectively refers to all nonprofessional hospital pharmacy staff.
A pharmacy aide, categorized under supportive personnel, assists in various activities of the Pharmacy Service under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist.

Duties include but are not limited to:

Setting up, packaging, and labeling medications.
Maintaining inventories of drug supplies.
Setting up pre-packaging and preparing medications used in the hospital as floor stocks among others.
Training for other supportive personnel, such as clerks, storekeepers, and utility workers, should be coordinated with other hospital services.
Continuing education programs should be undertaken for updates on matters related to their functions in the hospital's operation.