Preparatory Year Students' Perception of Pharmacy Profession as a Career Choice: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract The study attempted to assess preparatory year students' perception towards pharmacists and the pharmacy profession. This cross-sectional survey was conducted between December 2019 and March 2020. The students were invited to complete an anonymous questionnaire via Google Forms®. In total, 244 students, of which 53.7% were female with the mean age of 19.2 ± 0.65, from 12 universities participated in this study. As per our findings, the majority of the respondents (91.8%) regard pharmacy as a well-respected profession, 82.4% thought pharmacists are important decision-makers, 68.4% disagreed that most pharmacists were unkind, and 60.7% did not agree that pharmacy was a low-status occupation. Meanwhile, 95.5% agreed that pharmacists must have a university degree, 88.6% agreed pharmacists must take responsibility for patients, and 82.8% believed pharmacists had to work too hard. Moreover, 62.3% did not think pharmacy was a low-skill occupation, 54.9% did not agree pharmacists must do unpleasant things, and 45.1% disagreed pharmacists only did what physicians requested of them. Lastly, 48.8% had low confidence in choosing pharmacy as a career. The students' overall perception toward pharmacists and the pharmacy profession was favorable. However, only one-fourth of the students displayed a tendency to choose pharmacy as a future career.

Existence of advanced glycation / lipoxidation end-products in parenteral nutrition solutions and effects of infusion conditions on their levels

Abstract Infusion solutions must be stable from the production stage until the infusion stage. Some infusion fluids contain degradation products, known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs); however, it is unknown whether AGEs exist in parenteral nutrition solutions. We aimed to investigate this question and test the effect of infusion conditions on AGE formation in parenteral nutrition solution. Nine parenteral nutrition solutions were supplied by the pharmacy with which we collaborated. To simulate the infusion conditions, the solutions were held in a patient room with standard lighting and temperature for 24 hours. Samples were taken at the beginning (group A) and the end (24th hour, group B) of the infusion period. The degradation products were 3-deoxyglucosone, pentosidine, N-carboxymethyl lysine, and 4-hydroxynonenal, which we investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and Q-TOF LC/MS methods. Two of four degradation products, 4-hydroxynonenal and N-carboxymethyl lysine, were detected in all samples, and Group B had higher levels of both compounds compared to Group A, who showed that the quantities of these compounds increased in room conditions over time. The increase was significant for 4-hydroxynonenal (p=0.03), but not for N-carboxymethyl lysine (p=0.23). Moreover, we detected in the parenteral nutrition solutions a compound that could have been 4-hydroxy-2-butynal or furanone

University Pharmacy: from the foundation to the Pandemic times of Covid-19

Abstract The University Pharmacy Program (FU), from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), was created based on the need to offer a curricular internship to students of the Undergraduate Course at the Faculty of Pharmacy. Currently, it is responsible for the care of about 200 patients/day, offering vacancies for curricular internships for students in the Pharmacy course, it has become a reference in the manipulation of many drugs neglected by the pharmaceutical industry and provides access to medicines for low-income users playing an important social function. Research is one of the pillars of FU-UFRJ and several master and doctoral students use the FU research laboratory in the development of dissertations and theses. As of 2002, the Pharmaceutical Care extension projects started to guarantee a rational and safe pharmacotherapy for the medicine users. From its beginning in 1982 until the current quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FU-UFRJ has been adapting to the new reality and continued to provide patient care services, maintaining its teaching, research, and extension activities. The FU plays a relevant social role in guaranteeing the low-income population access to special and neglected medicines, and to pharmaceutical and education services in health promotion.

Exploring Work Satisfaction and Characteristics of Iraqi Pharmacist Workforce

Abstract The objectives of this study were to describe work characteristics of Iraqi pharmacists, to compare pharmacist job satisfaction between private and public sectors and to assess factors influencing job satisfaction level. This cross-sectional study of pharmacists, their work sites and work satisfactions used an electronic questionnaire that was posted on Facebook pharmacy professional group from June to September 2018. The participants included pharmacists from all 18 Iraqi provinces. We used multiple linear regression to identify predictors of general job satisfaction among 13 pharmacist characteristics. We received 658 usable surveys. Approximately half (47.24%) of respondents indicated dissatisfaction with their primary workplace. Job performance, patient contact, satisfaction with manager, income and expectation satisfactions were significantly related with work satisfaction. Pharmacists working in the private sector had significantly more control over their workplace and higher satisfaction with manager, income and general satisfactions compared to those working in public sector. Pharmacists work in diverse settings across the public healthcare system, community pharmacies, private drug bureaus and academia. About half of them are dissatisfied with their primary workplace. The private sector has more satisfaction rate compared to the public sector. Thus, officials need to improve job environments in the public sector.

The clinical pharmacist's role in a high-cost medicine pharmacy: Patient-centered care

Abstract In Brazil, medicine dispensing is a pharmacy service provided within the national health system that allows the pharmacist to interact directly with the patient in order to prevent, detect and solve problems related to pharmacotherapy and health needs. However, it is known that most dispensing services provided in the country are still limited to supplying medications and, at their finest, offering advice on medication utilization. Attempts to change this scenario present new challenges the area of pharmacy, which involve the need for a patient-centered pharmaceutical service model. This paper describes the patient-centered pharmaceutical service of high-cost medicine dispensing performed at a pharmacy linked to the Brazilian Unified Health System. In the model described here, the medicine-dispensing activity is the pharmacist's main field of practice, which consists of identifying patient needs related to health care itself and medication utilization. It also aims to introduce the instrument developed (a Pharmaceutical Care Protocol) that contributed to implementing this clinical service provided by the pharmacist. The protocols guide and qualify the service by providing information that helps in evaluating the effectiveness and safety of treatments and in the preparation of the care plan and can be used as a basis for other services that intend to adopt clinical pharmacy practices.

Identification and characterisation of potential drug interaction in a Hospital in Jundiai, Sao Paulo State

Abstract To identify and characterize the most frequent Drug Interaction (DI) in a Jundiaí Hospital. Exploratory, descriptive, and analytical cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. The source of the study is 100 prescriptions made by the medical service of a hospital in Jundiaí, dispensed from August to October 2018, by the pharmacy of the mentioned hospital for palliative care, mental health, and emergency care. Data plotting in Excel. Of the 100 prescriptions analyzed 60 had at least one type of interaction, 164 DI were found, 14.6% severe, 67.7% moderate, 17.1% minor and 0.6% unspecified. The mechanism of interaction that most appeared in the study was pharmacodynamics, 54.3%, pharmacokinetics were present in 34.1% of DI and 11.6% were not specified. The group most affected by DI was male 33% of prescriptions, female 27%, and 40% showed no interactions. The age group with the most interactions was from 50 to 59 years old. Of the prescriptions that had MI, those with 4 or more interactions were the ones that prevailed. The class of drugs that presented the most interactions was psychotropic drugs. A relevant frequency of interactions was identified by the present study, being the class of psychotropic drugs the most evident and interactions of medium severity the most found, which may be responsible for lowering the clinical condition of patients and the need of possible additional interventions. The data presented may contribute as epidemiological indicators, guiding corrective actions, aiming at the welfare of patients

Serviços farmacêuticos na atenção primária à saúde: Estudo etnográfico em serviços de saúde no município de São Paulo / Pharmaceutical Services in Primary Health Care: Ethnographic Study in Health Services in the City of São Paulo

Os serviços farmacêuticos na Atenção Primária a Saúde (APS) é um tema emergente ao se tratar do contexto de desenvolvimento das políticas farmacêuticas no Brasil, em especial a de Assistência Farmacêutica. Na área, inúmeros estudos têm sido publicados e diversos grupos e instituições debatem o assunto, porém, sem um único consenso ou modelo propositivo. A APS ou Atenção Básica é o modelo de atenção prioritário adotado no Brasil, no SUS e tem como características a territorialização, o trabalho em equipe multiprofissional, o vínculo e o acolhimento. É um espaço rico de desenvolvimento de serviços farmacêuticos e de viabilidade das estratégias de garantia do direito à saúde, como o acesso a medicamentos essenciais e cuidado no seu uso. Por isso a farmácia na APS é um local de trabalho do farmacêutico, com boa empregabilidade e possibilidade de desenvolvimento de uma atuação não tão ligada a histórica formação do farmacêutico tecnicista. Além disso, é preciso desenvolver reflexões sobre serviços farmacêuticos utilizando dados da realidade, possibilitando que estudos como este possam contribuir no desenvolvimento de serviços na APS a partir das necessidades em saúde, considerando as determinações sociais do processo saúde-doença. Sendo assim, o objetivo desta tese foi o de caracterizar os serviços farmacêuticos na Atenção Primária à Saúde, no município de São Paulo, e como se expressam em diferentes modelos na materialidade da APS. Utilizou-se a pesquisa qualitativa, especificamente a Observação Participante, com abordagem etnográfica como fonte para o aprofundamento do conhecimento, pois permite a compreensão do homem em sua sociabilidade. O estudo foi desenvolvido no município de São Paulo. A primeira parte corresponde a um estudo exploratório, composto por um grupo focal com 20 farmacêuticos e um survey online aplicado a outros 120 farmacêuticos. Todos atuam na Secretaria Municipal de Saúde. Na segunda parte, o estudo foi desenvolvido em 3 Unidades Básicas de Saúde, com aproximadamente 170 horas de observação, registradas em cadernos de campo. Os registros possibilitaram a análise e a formação de categorias conceituais. Por fim, a APS permite uma construção e visão ampliadas do escopo dos serviços farmacêuticos, ao analisá-los a partir da percepção de quem os vive, uma vez que há o entendimento de que os serviços não são fragmentados e que o farmacêutico os executa em um campo complexo, ampliado e dinâmico como a APS. O uso da Observação Participante em estudos na área da saúde, especialmente na Farmácia, possibilita reflexões sobre o fenômeno, que não são isoladas, nem mesmo descontextualizadas da realidade em saúde. Identifica-se a necessidade de estudos qualitativos para a descrição interpretativa dos fenômenos na saúde apoiada nas ciências humanas, (re)fazendo movimentos de síntese críticos e reflexivos. Procedentes da análise, pode-se na observação participante compreender três modelos diferentes de atuação do farmacêutico, que geram concepções de serviços farmacêuticos distintas e que se relacionam aos modelos de APS, sendo alguns mais universais e integrais versus modelos de cobertura universal, focalizados e seletivos. Os serviços farmacêuticos na APS têm um potencial de compreender que as pessoas não são iguais por completo, e que é preciso reconhecer as necessidades e, por conseguinte, sociais. As evidências obtidas foram demonstradas em categorias conceituais relacionadas às diferentes perspectivas dos serviços farmacêuticos na APS, possibilitando entender que o farmacêutico é a referência em medicamentos nas UBS e tem-se feito essencial para a população, especialmente no campo da APS. Tendo nessa perspectiva uma nova prática, aquela que é real, construída pela prática da APS, e não em métodos teóricos de atendimento clínico. Os serviços farmacêuticos que se estabelecem na APS devem contribuir com as condições de vida, permeados pelo debate das determinações sociais de saúde, sendo necessário refletir sobre quais necessidades, àquelas vigentes e de acordo com o que o mercado deseja ou àquelas que correspondem as necessidades reais

Pharmaceutical services in Primary Health Care (PHC) is an emerging concept in the context of developing pharmaceutical policies in Brazil, especially Pharmaceutical Assistance. Numerous studies in this field have been published and several groups and institutions debate the subject; however, there is no consensus on the proposed model. PHC or Basic Care is the preferred model adopted in Brazil, in the Single Health System (SHS), and is characterized by territorialization, multiprofessional teamwork, relationships, and user embracement. It is a rich space for the development of pharmaceutical services and viable strategies for ensuring the right to health, including access to essential medicines and care in their use. That is why the pharmacy in PHC is a pharmacist's place of work, with good employability, and the possibility of developing an activity that goes beyond the traditional scope f a technical pharmacist. In addition, it is necessary to examine pharmaceutical services using actual data, enabling studies such as this to contribute to the development of PHC services based on health needs, considering the social determinants of the health-disease process. Thus, the objective of this thesis was to characterize the pharmaceutical services in PHC, in the city of São Paulo, and examine how they are expressed in different models in the materiality of PHC. We used qualitative research, specifically participant observation, with an ethnographic approach, to obtain in-depth knowledge, since it allows the understanding of man in his social context. The study was conducted in the city of São Paulo. The first part consists of an exploratory study, on a focus group with 20 pharmacists, and an online survey of another 120 pharmacists. They all work at the Municipal Health Office. The second part of the study was conducted in three Basic Health Units (BHU), with approximately 170 hours of observation recorded in field notebooks. The records made it possible to analyze and form conceptual categories. Finally, PHC allows a broader construct and vision of the scope of pharmaceutical services, by analyzing them from the perception of those who experience them, since there is an understanding that the services are not fragmented and that the pharmacist performs them in a complex, expanded, and dynamic field, like PHC. The use of participant observation in health field studies, especially in Pharmacy, allows reflections on the phenomenon, which are not isolated, nor decontextualized from the reality in health. The need for qualitative studies is felt for the interpretative description of health phenomena supported by the human sciences, (re)making critical and reflective synthesis movements., By using participant observation in the analysis, it is possible to understand three different models of the pharmacist's performance, which lead to distinct conceptions of pharmaceutical services and are related to PHC models, some of them more universal and integral compared to universal coverage models that are focused and selective. The pharmaceutical services in PHC have the potential to understand that people are not completely the same, and that it is necessary to recognize the needs, and therefore the social conditions. The evidence obtained has been demonstrated in conceptual categories related to the different perspectives of pharmaceutical services in PHC, making it possible to understand that the pharmacist is the authority in medicines at the Health Care Unit and has become essential for the population, especially in the field of PHC. This perspective comprises a new approach, one that is realistic and practical, built by the practice of PHC, and not based on theoretical methods of clinical care. The pharmaceutical services established in PHC must contribute to living conditions, accompanied by the debate on social health determinations, and it is necessary to reflect on which are the needs that are in force and according to what the market wants or those that correspond to real necessities

Da sala de aula à práxis clínica no contexto do Sistema Único de Saúde: o currículo de Farmácia frente às necessidades da população brasileira / From the classroom to the clinical practice within the National Healtcare System: Pharmacy's curriculum facing Brazilian population's needs

As mudanças ocorridas no Sistema Único de Saúde nos últimos anos, associadas às mudanças nas políticas educacionais, forçaram uma modificação na atuação do profissional farmacêutico. Nesse sentido, o farmacêutico necessita adquirir capacitação para atuar em conjunto com a Equipe Multiprofissional de Saúde. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar se o ensino superior em Farmácia no Brasil capacita o farmacêutico a atuar em colaboração com a Equipe Multiprofissional de Saúde dentro dos preceitos do Sistema Único de Saúde. Com base em metodologia quanti-qualitativa, este trabalho analisou projetos político-pedagógicos e o cenário clínico de hospitais universitários de cinco instituições de ensino superior brasileiras, e estudou, a partir de questionários qualitativos, aplicados a diversos profissionais de saúde, as necessidades da equipe em relação à atividade do farmacêutico. Verificou-se inserção ainda modesta do farmacêutico, muitas vezes causada pela falta de conhecimento da equipe sobre sua função ou por uma sensação de falta de preparo do próprio profissional. Também, a análise dos documentos oriundos dos cursos permitiu a constatação da falta de um olhar direcionado para o Sistema Único de Saúde e para a formação clínica. Poucas iniciativas curriculares tem surgido nesse sentido. Por fim, são apresentadas propostas, por meio de mapeamento conceitual, para se pensar um currículo em que coexistam a formação técnica, já tradicional, e a formação clínica, permitindo abarcar essa última, deixada de lado a partir de meados do século XX, que retorna hoje como uma demanda social

Recent modification in the Brazilian's Public Health System, associated with changes in educational policies for higher education, forced a change in the pharmacist's professional performance area. Accordingly, the pharmacist needs to acquire capacity to act in conjunction with the Health Multidisciplinary Team. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate whether higher education in Brazil Pharmacy Schools enables the professional to work in collaboration with the Health Multidisciplinary Team within the precepts of National Public Health System. Based on quantitative and qualitative methodology, this study analyzed political-pedagogical projects and the clinical setting of university hospitals of five Brazilian higher education institutions, and studied from qualitative questionnaires applied to various health professionals the needs of the Multidisciplinary Health Team in having as a team member the pharmacist. There was verified a still modest insertion of the pharmacist in health teams, often caused by lack of staff knowledge about their function or by a sense of lack of readiness of the professional himself. Also, the analysis of documents from Pharmacy courses led to confirmation of the lack of educational policies directed to the National Public Health System and clinical training. Few curriculum initiatives have arisen in this regard. Finally, proposals are developed through conceptual mapping, to think of a Pharmacy course curriculum that can coexist in both the technical training as clinical training, allowing embrace this professional area of actuation that was set aside from the mid-twentieth century and returns today as a social demand

Programa de educación continua en administración de hospitales: diagnóstico del Hospital Obrero N§ 5 Regional Potosí / Program of continuy of education in hospital administration: diagnosis of Hospital Obrero N§ 5 Potosí Regional

El presente texto se realiza con el objetivo de conocer los diferentes problemas que atingen al hospital, basados en los principios básicos de salud, mediante estadística aplicada a la medicina Social tanto preventiva, pues mediante ella conocemos indicadores importantes que revelan datos de natalidad, morbilidad y mortalidad de la población asegurada y beneficiaria a la institución