The first official mention of pharmaceutical practices refers to a tablet from ancient Mesopotamia that describes the methods of preparing ointments and potions. Pharmacist is a profession rooted in the basic human need to prepare and use medicines to make you feel better or heal a wound. The very first pharmacy was opened in Europe at the end of the 19th century, and it is from this time that the life of the profession of a community pharmacist can be counted.
Pharmaceutical practice in the State of Georgia is represented by three institutions, of which the State College, which has a reputation as a national medical school, stands out. The professional demographics of pharmacists is measured by the number of licenses, of which there are about 10,000 (Georgia SOS, n.d.). A pharmacist’s license is authorized through a special form and addressed to the Georgia State Pharmacy Board. According to the licensing rules, the future pharmacist requires an appropriate professional education, they must be of age, and they must not have negative notes about their behavior or ethical principles.
Pharmaceutical education is quite eclectic in professional practice options, offering professions ranging from retail pharmacist to pharmacy industrialist or teacher. The financial side of this profession is quite profitable, which is why high competence is likely within the companies representing drug development. Deep knowledge of biology and biochemistry is required for the profession of a pharmacist. A professional who owns it must also be proficient in mathematics and chemistry in order to be able to understand and calculate the exact effect of medicinal components on the human body. The education of the next generation of pharmacists is based on the opportunities within the profession that are constantly expanding with the improvement of medicine. The practical application of knowledge is an integral aspect of training, since social integration with real patients is one of the main principles of this profession.
Goal setting is considered to be an important aspect of the pharmacist’s work, since the ability to adequately set benchmarks contributes to the main task, that is, the well-being of the patient. Based on this, the goals should be meaningful, achievable, relevant, and measurable in terms of time and quality of the result. The pharmacist must evaluate the success of any short-term and long-term venture, which is especially important in interactions with patients who need to be offered the most correct treatment plan.
The pharmaceutical community is represented by associations around the world, of which the largest and most noteworthy is the American Pharmacist Association. This professional community strives to improve the entire field of the pharmaceutical profession. The practice of this Association is largely preventive in nature, since the subject of discussion is the audibility of the voice of pharmacists who are concerned about public health. The goal of pharmacists is not in itself the improvement of professional activity, but the benefit of people, in connection with which this Association also opens its doors to those who are not indifferent to health as an important characteristic of a prosperous society.
In the past few years, the strategic foundations of the traditional pharmaceutical industry have been shaken by the pandemic, the lockdown, and the concomitant rise in disease that seemed out of control. The pressure on the pharmaceutical community has been and remains enormous, not only in terms of developing, testing, and distributing a vaccine, but also in terms of access to the community. Going beyond the usual boundaries of the pharmaceutical industry is expressed in finding ways to deliver drugs to the patient directly to the home, or to supply drugs to special volunteer or courier services (Goode et al., 2019). Thus, the main task of the pharmacist continues, that is, to deliver care to the patient as promptly as is necessary for their health. The pharmaceutical community perceives the lockdown situation as a new and challenging challenge and an opportunity for increased training to respond more quickly to a possible similar situation. To adapt to the requirements set by the outside world and constantly seek improvement in production and communication with society seems to be the answer of the pharmaceutical community to the demands of the future.
References
Georgia SOS. (n.d.). Licensure as a pharmacist. Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia. Web.
Goode, J.-V., Owen, J., Page, A., & Gatewood, S. (2019). Community-based pharmacy practice innovation and the role of the community-based pharmacist practitioner in the United States. Pharmacy 7(3), 106. DOI:10.3390/pharmacy7030106