scholarly journals Pharmacist—Pharmacy Technician Intraprofessional Collaboration and Workplace Integration: Implications for Educators

Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Jetha ◽  
Ali Walji ◽  
Paul Gregory ◽  
Dalya Abdulla ◽  
Zubin Austin

Globally, concerns have been expressed regarding the impact of regulation of pharmacy technicians. After more than a decade of experience with technician regulation in Ontario, Canada, uptake of the full scope of practice for technicians has been sporadic at best. The objective of this study was to examine barriers and facilitators to intraprofessional collaboration between pharmacists and pharmacy technicians for the purpose of identifying possible curricular or educational interventions to enhance workplace integration. A qualitative, interview-based study of 24 pharmacists, technicians, educators, pharmacy managers, and owners was undertaken using a semi-structured interview guide. Key findings of this research include: (i) Confirmation of suboptimal utilization of regulated technicians in practice; (ii) identification of crucial knowledge and skills gaps for both pharmacists and technicians; and (iii) proposals for undergraduate education and training, and continuing professional development learning opportunities to address these gaps. In order to achieve the promise and potential of regulation of pharmacy technicians, system-wide change management—beginning with education—will be required and will benefit from multiple stakeholder engagement and involvement.

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pius T. Tanga ◽  
Mulwaini Mundau

The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of donor-funded community empowerment projects on poverty alleviation in Zimbabwe. The primary data were collected from a questionnaire survey from 52 project members who were from two local ngos that were selected randomly. A semi-structured interview guide designed for two officials of the selected ngos implementing the projects was also used. The findings show that there is heavy dependence on outside funding, no adherence to the principles of the empowerment approach and a failure to positively impact the lives of the project members. This therefore calls for ngos to adopt better empowerment practices: community involvement in decision making, project ownership, and clear lines of communication with the ngos. However the findings also show the strength of linking project members with relevant institutions and training in order to ensure sustainability of community projects that may foster community empowerment towards poverty eradication.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lee Brady ◽  
Annie Hoang ◽  
Olivia Siswanto ◽  
Jordana Riesel ◽  
Jacqui Gingras

Obtaining dietetic licensure in Ontario requires completion of a Dietitians of Canada (DC) accredited four-year undergraduate degree in nutrition and an accredited post-graduate internship or combined Master’s degree program. Given the scarcity of internship positions in Ontario, each year approximately two-thirds of the eligible applicants who apply do not receive a position XX, XX, XX, XX, XX, XX, in press). Anecdotally, not securing an internship position is known to be a particularly disconcerting experience that has significant consequences for individuals’ personal, financial, and professional well-being. However, no known empirical research has yet explored students’ experiences of being unsuccessful in applying for internship positions. Fifteen individuals who applied between 2005 and 2009 to an Ontario-based dietetic internship program, but were unsuccessful at least once, participated in a one-on-one semi-structured interview. Findings reveal that participants’ experiences unfold successively in four phases that are characterized by increasingly heightened emotional peril: naïveté, competition, devastation, and frustration. The authors conclude that the current model of dietetic education and training in Ontario causes lasting distress to students and hinders the future growth and vitality of the dietetic profession. Further research is required to understand the impact of the current model on dietetic educators, internship coordinators, and preceptors as coincident participants in the internship application process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-28
Author(s):  
Endre Szabó ◽  
Katinka Bajkai-Tóth ◽  
Ildikó Rudnák ◽  
Róbert Magda

In the course of the research, we examined the impact of the selection and training system of a Hungarian automotive company on organizational performance, which together ensure the future development of the company. It contributes to the optimization of sales, purchasing and logistics processes, ensures customer satisfaction and the success of the company. In this fast-paced and globalized world, it is essential for companies to be aware that one of the most important factors of production is human resources themselves, whose proper selection and training are a key element in maintaining and developing economic competitiveness. Human resources play the biggest role in the operation of an economic organization. Process quality and process orientation reduce costs, increase profitability, and improve processes to always meet growing requirements. This is the basis of the quality strategy. Therefore, it consistently applies preventive quality assurance methods, learns from failures, eliminates the causes of mistakes without delays and transfers its experience to all areas of the company for preventive action. It is customer-oriented and strives for excellence in all areas, and thus makes it an obligation for everyone to aim for the highest level of customer service. Due to the special peculiarities and characteristics of the labor force, it cannot be compared to any of the production resources. Taking this as a basis, the human resource management used to be more of a functional purpose, while in recent decades human factors have become an essential source of competitiveness. The market operation and performance of an organization depends significantly on how we can select the most suitable workforce. We need to see what the strategic points that determine the role of HR are, and we are also looking for the answer in which direction the needs, expectations and professionalism given by the generational difference move the activities of human resources. The aim of the research is to get an answer to how the employees of one of the leading Hungarian players in the automotive industry perceive the importance of the selection and training of the workforce in maintaining and improving competitiveness. To this end, we used a semi-structured interview, with the help of which we evaluated the current selection and training processes in the light of competitiveness and made suggestions for the improvement and refinement of these processes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 734-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bannin De Witt Jansen ◽  
Kevin Brazil ◽  
Peter Passmore ◽  
Hilary Buchanan ◽  
Doreen Maxwell ◽  
...  

Background: Pain management is a cornerstone of palliative care. The clinical issues encountered by physicians when managing pain in patients dying with advanced dementia, and how these may impact on prescribing and treatment, are unknown. Aim: To explore physicians’ experiences of pain management for patients nearing the end of life, the impact of these on prescribing and treatment approaches, and the methods employed to overcome these challenges. Design: Qualitative, semi-structured interview study exploring barriers to and facilitators of pain management, prescribing and treatment decisions, and training needs. Thematic analysis was used to elicit key themes. Setting/participants: A total of 23 physicians, responsible for treating patients with advanced dementia approaching the end of life, were recruited from primary care ( n = 9), psychiatry ( n = 7) and hospice care ( n = 7). Results: Six themes emerged: diagnosing pain, complex prescribing and treatment approaches, side effects and adverse events, route of administration, importance of sharing knowledge and training needs. Knowledge exchange was often practised through liaison with physicians from other specialities. Cross-speciality mentoring and the creation of knowledge networks were believed to improve pain management in this patient population. Conclusion: Pain management in end-stage dementia is complex, requiring cross-population of knowledge between palliative care specialists and non-specialists, in addition to collateral information provided by other health professionals and patients’ families. Regular, cost- and time-effective mentoring and ongoing professional development are perceived to be essential in empowering physicians to meet clinical challenges in this area.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-59
Author(s):  
FITRIO DEVIANTONY

Floods and landslides are disasters that can cause a lot of damage related to the material and of course fatalities, as well as the amount of damage from the environment that occurs, and other impacts will undoubtedly affect the psychology of the communities that changed by the disaster. The psychological effect of this unusual event will undoubtedly lead to trauma or it called posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study aims to explore the experiences of farmers who experience floods and landslides directly, the research design used is a qualitative research design using an interpretative phenomenology approach. The technique of collecting data used in-depth interviews with a semi-structured interview guide involving five participants and analyzed using interpretative analysis of phenomenology. This study produced six themes including disasters that occur due to humans, accepting the existing reality, getting closer to God, having the desire to farm again, recovering the family economy, keeping the environment around and improving themselves. The role of health workers is important because the impact caused by this condition can be worse so that health workers need to provide services so that farmers can understand, live and be able to accept and adapt to the conditions that occur


2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-107
Author(s):  
Sotiria Tzivinikou

Teachers’ professional development is the key to education improvement. On that basis, the present study aimed to investigate the impact of a 6-month in-service training program in the context of the continuing professional development for educators on educational practice. The main objective of the training program was to improve the educators’ teaching skills, to enrich their practices with the most effective strategies and with the newest findings from research evidence in order to increase the quality of their educational interventions for students with special educational needs. An innovation of that program was the simultaneous training of both general and special education teachers in pairs, smoothing the dividing lines between general and special education in their daily instructional practice. The participants were 30 educators, divided into 15 pairs. Each pair was working in the same inclusive school sharing the responsibility of the educational support of a student with learning problems. The estimation of the impact of the program was investigated by measuring the educators’ increasing sense of self-efficacy in relation to their instructional skills and overall effectiveness of their educational interventions for their students with learning difficulties. A pre and post evaluation research design was employed and the findings showed that the training program had a positive impact on the educators’ self-efficacy and their effectiveness regarding collaborative educational interventions for their students. Key words: continuing professional development, in-service training, self-efficacy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 2358-2367
Author(s):  
Rabee Alqahtani ◽  
Mohammed Alqahtani

The issue examined in this systematic review was the current status of research on the use of ICT techniques in the education of gifted children. After defining gifted children, the need for separate consideration of educating them and the appropriate method of educating them led to considering ICT as a promising method to teach them. The review found that some recent research has reported models of appropriate education using ICT. However, mere models are not going to achieve anything. Facilitation of ICT at the school level and training of teachers to teach gifted children using ICT is also important. As with any other case, factors and challenges determine the success of ICT use in educating gifted children. Early identification of gifted children, self-regulation and self-efficacy of gifted children to focus on the relevant topics, individualised programmes and lastly, the impact of the current Covid-19 pandemic have been discussed by the other papers that were reviewed. Overall, it can be deduced that ICT is indeed a useful avenue to teach gifted students, but it needs to be used in conjunction with other educational interventions/programs to ensure its effectiveness. These findings have practical implications for improving the education of gifted students.


Author(s):  
Maryam Jetha ◽  
Kenneth K C Man ◽  
Dalya Abdulla ◽  
Zubin Austin

Abstract Objectives The objective of this study was to investigate multi-stakeholder perceptions of practice-related facilitators to optimising the quality of Regulated Pharmacy Technician (RPT) integration into the community workforce in Ontario. Facilitators to incorporating technicians into the workflow and supporting their optimal scope of practice were explored. Methods A qualitative exploratory study comprising a series of one-to-one interviews using a piloted, semi-structured interview guide was conducted with four community pharmacy stakeholder groups; pharmacists, RPTs, pharmacy assistants and pharmacy owners. Interviews were conducted until saturation of themes. Verbatim transcripts were coded inductively using the software, NVivo v12 (QSR International) and general inductive analysis identified key findings. Key findings Twenty-seven interviews were conducted consisting of seven pharmacists, seven RPTs, eight assistants and five pharmacy owners working within community pharmacy and/or academia or hospital. All participants from every stakeholder group acknowledged that the promise of regulation of pharmacy technicians was unfulfilled in practice. Three major themes of practical significance were derived: (i) A viable business plan that incorporates RPT remuneration and ensures sustainability is a facilitator to fuller integration of RPTs, (ii) Planning the pharmacy workflow to support RPTs’ and pharmacists’ evolving scopes is a facilitator to RPT integration and (iii) Schedule planning to incorporate RPTs and appropriate staffing ratios in relation to prescription volume and pharmacy services allows for optimal utilisation of RPT skills and facilitates their integration. Conclusions Achieving integration of RPTs into the business of a community pharmacy has educational, workplace and regulatory implications, requiring the effective engagement of all stakeholders in pharmacy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Whaley ◽  
Ashley Bancsi ◽  
Joanne Man-Wai Ho ◽  
Catherine M. Burns ◽  
Kelly Grindrod

Abstract Background The indication for prescribing a particular medication, or its reason for use (RFU) is a crucial piece of information for all those involved in the circle of care. Research has shown that sharing RFU information with physicians, pharmacists and patients improves patient safety and patient adherence, however RFU is rarely added on prescriptions by prescribers or on medication labels for patients to reference. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 prescribers in Southern Ontario, Canada, to learn prescribers’ current attitudes on the addition of RFU on prescriptions and medication labels. A trained interviewer used a semi-structured interview guide for each interview. The interviews explored how the sharing of RFU information would impact prescribers’ workflows and practices. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically coded. Results The analysis yielded four main themes: Current Practice, Future Practice, Changing Culture, and Collaboration. Most of the prescribers interviewed do not currently add RFU to prescriptions. Prescribers were open to sharing RFU with colleagues via a regional database but wanted the ability to provide context for the prescribed medication within the system. Many prescribers were wary of the impact of adding RFU on their workflow but felt it could save time by avoiding clarifying questions from pharmacists. Increased interprofessional collaboration, increased patient understanding of prescribed medications, avoiding guesswork when determining indications and decreased misinterpretation regarding RFU were cited by most prescribers as benefits to including RFU information. Conclusions Prescribers were generally open to sharing RFU and clearly identified the benefits to pharmacists and patients if added. Critically, they also identified benefits to their own practices. These results can be used to guide the implementation of future initiatives to promote the sharing of RFU in healthcare teams.


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 430-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Posthumus ◽  
Gil Bozer ◽  
Joseph C. Santora

Purpose Professionals of human resources (HR) use different criteria in practice than they verbalize. Thus, the aim of this research was to identify the implicit criteria used for the selection of high-potential employees in recruitment and development settings in the pharmaceutical industry. Design/methodology/approach A semi-structured interview guide was developed and used to collect data from 15 European and US recruiters in the pharmaceutical sector. The interview guide included an embedded association test to identify potential differences between implicit assumptions about high potentials and verbalized criteria among participants. Findings These include differences and similarities between the criteria to define high potentials and the implicit assumptions HR professionals use in their initial selection of employees who are selected for further assessment and development programmes. Research limitations/implications Size of the sample is a limitation. Therefore, the conclusions drawn from this study should be treated with a degree of caution. Practical implications Learning how HR professionals use implicit assumptions about potential recruits should inform practitioners about selection, promotion and training strategies. Given the increasing application of automated search algorithms to identify and select high potentials for recruitment, development and promotion purposes, future studies should account for the differences between used and verbalized criteria underlying the development of these systems. Originality/value This study shows how the used implicit assumptions of HR professionals about high potentials differ from verbalized statements and guidelines.


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