As a commemoration of the world pharmacist day with the theme "Pharmacy: Always trusted for your health".

I will like to use this medium to enlighten the public in the roles of the pharmacist in health care.

¶ Pharmacist are not just drug sellers.

There is a skewed perception of pharmacists being just drug sellers or dispensers just like people in the patent medicine store or chemist. Yes that is partially true but that is a microcosm of what we do.


A pharmacist also compound drugs and extemporaneous preparations to specific patients when the need arises.

A pharmacist can also provide patient counseling on the right way to taking medication and maintaining good health.

He/she also plays a role in counseling patients on smoking cessation, drug abuse, alcohol addiction and other toxic substances.

A pharmacist does not only dispense drugs but provide pharmaceutical care to the patient.

¶ Community pharmacists have diverse roles
A community Pharmacist can also provide medical checkup services such as blood pressure measurement, temperature, auscultation, first aid services etc

Aside dispensing, pharmacist are active in cold chain management and administration of vaccines, patient counseling and medication therapy management to better understand the drugs you are about to take and any caution if there is.



¶ It takes a lot of schooling to be a pharmacist:

It takes a total of 5-6years of rigorous training to finish the pharmacy degree program, this is excluding a one year internship.

Pharmacists are well trained professionals on drugs and drug related information, no health professional knows it better than them.

A pharmacist in summary is a drug expert.

¶ A Pharmacist provide drug information:

Pharmacists are the hub for drug information.
Both health care professionals and patients consult pharmacists on drug information.

A pharmacist tells the patient which drugs to take with or without food, which drugs should not be taken at the same, what drug is not recommended for you or not etc.

Patients who are non compliant to the Pharmacist's instructions are at risk of exacerbating the illness or reducing their quality of life.


¶ Pharmacists can save you from spending more:
There are times a doctor will prescribe expensive drugs to a patient and if that patient is not drug insured he might find difficulty in acquiring them.

Most of the time a pharmacist can recommend another drug similar in action but cost effective or the same drug prescribed but at a lower cost by replacing a branded with a generic drug.

A pharmacist can also provides information on rebates and other cost saving tips to help lower cost of medicine.

¶ A pharmacist checkmates a doctor's prescription:

When a doctors prescription enters into the hands of a pharmacist, the pharmacist first authenticates if it is actually from a doctor or the patient is trying to forge it so he can self medicate or abuse the drugs ( drug abuse have become a menace in the society)

If it is truly from a doctor the pharmacist checks for drug-drug interaction, drug food interaction, allergy, adverse effects than might harm the patient in special conditions such as pregnancy, being a child or an old man.

The pharmacist also checks for accuracy and dose of the medication for the patients indication.

He or she then raises any concern to the prescribing doctor and provide recommendation.


¶ Pharmacists work in variety of places:
Most people assume pharmacists only work in the community (community pharmacist) or hospital (hospital pharmacist) .
Pharmacists also work in the government, administration, pharmaceutical companies, public health, academia, research, informatics and management care.

Pharmacists who work in pharmaceutical industries ensure that high quality drugs are being supplied to the public.
They utilized their knowledge on pharmacology, pharmaceutics , biotechnology and pharmaceutical chemistry to further advance the health care system.

Pharmacist in government and administration such as NAFDAC, NDLEA ensure sanity in drug distribution and work in eradication the menace of counterfeit drugs (e.g Dora Akunyuli).
Research institute like NIPRD carry out research on our indigenous plants and were able to discover for promising drugs such as Niprisan ( drug for sickle cell).

¶ Pharmacists are quintessential
Pharmacist are one of the most accessible healthcare professionals in the community.
Pharmacists have an important role in healthcare delivery because of their expertise and also their location within communities that gives them close proximity to patients, such that they are sometimes the first respondents in the healthcare system.

The role of a pharmacist is indispensible – John F. Kennedy


Nairaland let's celebrate our pharmacists

happy world pharmacy day

Haba

I'm happy to be marrying one
God bless all pharmacists worldwide
Happy Celebration to you guys

R

Great.

Congratulations
¶ Pharmacists are now awarded with a Doctor in Pharmacy, DPharm.
Any shops around you selling drugs illegally without a pharmacist license should be reported.

Enlightened.
Happy Pharmacy Day.
Our SS3 and undergraduate students are mostly uninformed.
I wish they would be more enlightened about things like this.
Career choices should be taught from primary school and not just allowing the pupils to be guessing

For me o, how big and fine the drug store is determines if I will call it a "Chemist" or "Pharmacy"

If you have one fine lady or man wearing white lab coat, ah, na pharmacy be that.

If you have all these ladies wearing white nurse uniform with their pant-lines showing, na Chemist bi that. Na dem I dey like buy condom from. But they are sexy sha.

God bless all the doctors in Nigeria trying their best to save people from different manners of sicknesses.... Even though the leaders don’t care about ya’ll, because they run abroad for the slightest headache with our tax payers money...


N/B: This prayer is not for those other criminal doctors who let people die when they couldn’t afford the exact amount of money demanded

You mean, Agbo Sellers

Ok

cool

Chemist people also known as patent medicine dealers also known as street doctors should join to celebrate today as well.

A BIG THANK YOU to all our Darling Pharmacists out there.

We love you all.

Thanks for all you do.

Ok

Error

It is easier to said than done, are pharmacist doing all these in present Nigeria, No? Love of money has override the interest of masses... FAIL COUNTRY WITH FAIL PEOPLE

Happy world pharmacists day to all the outstanding pharmacist and intending pharmacist all over the world.

What is healthcare without drugs?

#Proudlyapharmacystudent

Let's ask Buhari to value our health professionals more. All of them are praying to relocate to Saudi

.

Cosmatikka:
I'm happy to be marrying one
God bless all pharmacists worldwide
Happy Celebration to you guys

Your bum bum go don see injections tire o.

Pharmacist wey get Chemist

Pharmacy and Laboratory Science are fields that are not well understood in Nigeria

While growing up in the Eighties, most hospitals in my area had only Doctors and Nurses.

You see the Doctor, collect prescription and go to the 'chemist' where a Nurse will dispense your drugs and also give you injection.

Some 'hospitals' in the villages had only Nurses who prescribed and dispensed drugs and also gave injections.

Then we also had 'chemists' which were operated mostly by Igbo people who also used to prescribe drugs and give injections too.

The situation is still not different in many villages in my area.

Today those 'chemist' guys are even addressed as Doctors.

Ok

Wow

Pharmacists save lives

Kudos...


Remember INSURANCE is way to go