Student pharmacists need a textbook to use for learning in general
about etiquette, ethics, law, and other topics for practice courses. It
should be a book that is the right size for quickly reading and referencing
information when in a classroom or completing introductory and advanced
practice courses. We feel this text will fulfill that need for students.
TO THE STUDENT
This handbook is one of a few texts that you will use through your entire
pharmacy school education. So take a pencil or pen and start scribbling
notes in the margins, keep track of the “pearls” you learn in
class here in a book where you can find them later. There is no one right
way to use this handbook. The important thing is that it does not sit on
your shelf as a required text, never to be opened. You bought the book; take
the time to see what information is contained within. Think of it as your
road
map to practice courses; calculations, kinetics, drug information,
medical terminology, and laboratory data book all in one.
TO THE FACULTY/PRECEPTOR
Faculty/preceptors often find themselves looking for material that quickly
acquaints students with a certain theory, process, or practice. We hope that
this text meets those expectations. This text can be used both in the
classroom to introduce ideas and during practice courses to help guide
students in learning terminology, organizing case information, improving
problem-solving skills, and rounding. The book is divided into three working
sections: systems and expectations, a toolbox, and pharmacy practice topics.
In the systems and expectations section, the authors
discuss topics for introductory and advanced pharmacy practice courses,
etiquette, ethical issues, service-learning, communication skills,
monitoring patients, and the function of a medical team. All chapters are
written to help the student become comfortable within the healthcare system
and explain the expectations of student pharmacists within that system.
Included in the student pharmacist toolbox section are
chapters on medical terminology, United States federal regulations,
calculations, pharmacokinetics, laboratory data, and physical assessment.
The chapters on calculations and pharmacokinetics may be used in a beginning
classroom setting when students need to understand big concepts; it will
supplement the regular textbook. Instructive chapters dealing with the
technical and interpretive aspects of the practice of pharmacy, such as
physical assessment, and laboratory testing are included in the toolbox
section and can be used by the student during their advanced practice
courses to interpret patient findings. Students will be able to use this
book early in their pharmacy school curriculum, keep note of their learning,
and indicate “pearls” in the margins that they will use later to
practice.
The last section of the book contains
specific topics for pharmacy practice, including chapters addressing the
practices of community and institutional pharmacy, the pharmacist as drug
information specialist, managed care, public health, and global pharmacy.
These chapters are included to round out the text so that it becomes the
student practice guide from beginning to end. The final section touches on
topics such as missions and the responsibility to advocate for the
profession and advance the pharmacist's involvement in public health. All of
the topics are meant to support the knowledge and professional growth of
student pharmacists across a curriculum.