Page1of1

SCHOOLOFAPPLI
EDSCI
ENCES.

DEPARTMENTOFPHARMACEUTI
CAL
SCI
ENCES.

AREPORTONINTERNSHI
PATACHIMOTA
HOSPI
TAL PHARMACY.

JULYAUGUST

BY

REGI
NALDOYORTEY
Page2of2

TABLEOFCONTENT

GENERALI
NTRODUCTI
ONOFHOSPI
TALPHARMACYPRACTI
CE.

OBJECTI
VESOFTHEATTACHMENT

DESCRI
PTI
ONOFFACI
LITI
ES,
SERVI
CESANDPERSONNEL.

OVERVI
EW OFEXPERI
ENCESAQUI
RED.

CHALLENGES.

RECOMMENDATI
ONS.

CONCLUSI
ON.
Page3of3

I
NTRODUCTI
ON.

Achimot ahospit
alisapr i
mar yhospi t
allocat edinAchi mot a,ownedbyt he
government ,NHIS accredit
ed and r esponsi bleforpr ovidi
ng healthcare
servi
cest othegeneralpubli
c.Thehospi talhasdi fferentdepar tmentsand
allt
hedepar t
mentsar eheadedbyspeci alists whoar eef fici
entint hei
r
work. The depar tment also i ncludes t he medi cal depar tment,t he
gynecologydepar t
ment ,thedent aldepar tment ,thesur gicaldepartment,
the ment alhealt
h department ,the labor atory,the admi nistr
ati
on and
pharmaceut i
caldepart
mental lwor kingincol l
aborationt oimpr ovehealth
stat
usandt oensuret hatev eryindivi
dual ,househol dorcommuni t
yi n
Achimot aandi t
senv i
ronsisadequat el
yi nf ormedaboutheal t
h;and has
equit
ableaccesst ohighqualityhealthcar eandr elatedi nterventi
ons.This
shortint
ernshipwasgear edtowar dsthef ollowingobj ecti
ves;

Fami
l
iar
izat
ionwi
tht
hephar
macywor
kenv
ironment
.

Upgr
adi
ngofknowledgeaboutt
heuseofv
ari
ousmedi
cat
ionsi
n
phar
macypr
act
ice.

Pr
escr
ipt
ionr
eadi
ngandassessment
.

Gooddi
spensi
ngt
echni
quesandpat
ient
scounsel
i
ngpr
otocol
s.

Usi
ngcri
ti
calt
hinki
ngt
echni
quest
osol
vedr
ugandpat
ientr
elat
ed
pr
oblems.

Under
standi
ng t
he pr
inci
ples of st
ock suppl
i
es and st
ock
management.

Pr
ocedur
esf
orr
ecei
vi
ngandser
vingcont
rol
l
eddr
ugs.

Ont hedayofcommencement ,
mycol l
eaguesandIwer egi
venabr i
ef
i
ntroducti
onaboutt hehospi
tal
sett
inganditsf
acil
i
ties.Thehospit
altur
ns
outtohaveani solat
ionuni
twit
hthreemainwards;thechil
dren
sward,the
female
swar dandt heMale
swardinaddit
iontoaVIPwar d.Ageneral
outpati
entdepartment,anadmini
strat
ionandapharmacyar ealsopresent
.
Page4of4

ATTHEPHARMACY.
Thephar macyi soneoft hemostext ensivel
yusedt herapeuticf
aci
li
ti
esof
thehospi t
al;i
tisoneoft hef ewareasofhospi talwherelargeamountsof
moneyar espentonpur chasesonar ecurri
ngbasi s.Itisalsooneofthe
highestrevenuegeneratingcentres.Af airl
yhighper centageofthetotal
expenditureoft hehospitalgoesforphar macyser vices.Itcat
erstoout
patient
s,inpat
ientsandtheclini
call
aboratory.

Rol
esf
orhospi
talphar
maci
sts:

Somer
olesofphar
maci
stsi
nhospi
tal
sar
e

Cl
ini
calphar
macy
:

Worki
ng in war
ds and othercli
nicalareas,such as t
he emer
gency
depar
tmentandout
pati
entcli
nicst
opr ov
idepat
ientcar
eal
ongsi
dedoct
ors
andnurses.

Medi
cinesi
nfor
mat
ion:

Sear
chingandeval
uati
ngpubl
ishedmedicalandpharmaceuticall
i
ter
ature
toprov
ideanswerstoenqui
ri
esf r
om pati
ents,doct
ors,nur
sesandot her
phar
macist
s.

Di
spensi
ngandpat
ientcounsel
ing:

Hospi
talpati
entsoft
enrequi
recompl
exandspecial
i
zedmedici
neregi
mens
t
hatyoudon' toft
enseeoutsideahospi
tal
.Thesepati
ent
srel
yheavil
yon
t
hehospi t
alpharmacistf
orinfor
mati
ontoensuretheyknow how t
ouse
t
heirmedici
nes.

Cl
ini
caltri
als:
Thehospit
alisinvol
vedinlar
genumberofcli
nicalt
ri
als,andphar
maci
sts
arer
esponsibl
eforcoordi
nati
ngandmoni
tor
ingthesetr
ials.

Hospi
tal
int
heHome:

Somepat i
entsaretreatedashospi
talinpat
ient
sinthei
rhomes,manyare
tr
eateddail
ywithintrav
enousmedicinesthatarepr
eparedandmonit
ored
bythehospit
alpharmacist.
Page5of5

Dr
ugUseEv
aluat
ion:

Ani
mpor t
antpartofhospit
alpharmacyservi
cesi
stheongoi
ngmoni t
ori
ng
ofprescr
ibi
ng patt
erns and developmentofprescr
ibi
ng gui
del
i
nes to
i
mprovethequal
ityuseofmedicines.

Faci
li
ti
es.
Thepharmacywasal
soequi
ppedwi
tht
hef
oll
owi
ngt
oensur
ethei
ref
fi
cacy
andeff
ici
ency;

Ar estr oom.
A stor ewhi chi sr esponsibl
ef orr equisi
ti
ons,purchases,receivi
ng,
checki ngandst ori
ngofdr ugs( bulk).
A pr eparation r oom f or ext empor aneous compoundi ng when
necessar y .
Availabili
tyoft hree(3)ref r
igerators ;one f orst or
ing drugs that
requirespeci altemper at
urecondi tionsl i
keinsul
i
nmust ar
d.Etc.
An I T cont rolsy stem whi ch assi stsi n processing elect
ronic
prescr i
ptions,bill
i
ngandcashmanagement .
Depar tmental so f ullyaircondi ti
oned f oropti
mum t emperature
control.

STAFFDETAI
LS:

AchimotaHospit
alPharmacyhasemployeestotal
i
ng15.Theseemploy
ees
workinthreedi
ff
erentshi
ft
s;morni
ng,af
ternoonandeveni
ng.Eachshi
fti
s
superv
isedbyatl eastonephar
macist.Thephar maci
stisquali
fi
edand
eff
ici
ent.

Desi
gnat
ions. Count

Di
rector
. 01
Pharmacist
s. 05
Deal
ingstaff
. 05
Cl
erk. 02
Sweepers 02
Page6of6

Mai
nst
ore:

Ther
ear eplasti
ctraysinthecabi
nets.I
ncabinetstabl
ets,capsules,are
st
oredinthetraysandbelowthet
rayssyr
ups,
tonicbottl
esar ekept.Allt
he
medici
nes,t
abletsandcapsul
esarearr
angedi
nt heal
phabeticalorder.

1)I
nthecabi
net
soi
ntment
,lot
ions,dr
ops,ampoul
es,f
lui
ds,r
espi
rat
ory
sol ut i
onscr epeBandages, inj ect ionsar eal sostor ed.
2)Ineacht rayi nt hecabi net st her ear ecompar tment swher edi f
ferent
company
sdr ugsar estor ed.
3)E acht r
ayi sl abel edwi tht hedr ugsi ni t
.
4)Int hecabi net st herei sasepar atest oragear eaforonl ysy ri
nges.
5)F astmov ingampoul es,sy ringes,I Vf l
uids,I Vsetandl ozengesl i
ke
st repsi lsandf ewt ablesl i
kedi genear epl acedi nt r
ay s.Thispr ovides
foreasyandf astaccesst of requent l
yaskedmedi cines.
6)Th ere ar e cl osed cabi nets bel ow each shel f
.The dr ugs ar e not
repl acedorpl acedi nthecabi net sunt i
lthemedi cinei sov eroralmost
ov eri nt het ray.Onl ywheni ti sv eryl essi nnumbernew dr ugsar e
placedi nt het ray .Unt i
lt hent hedr ugsar est ockedi nt heclosed
cabi netbel ow.Thi sensur est hef irstinf i
rstoutpr i
ncipleofdr ug
del iver yt hati si tensur est hedr ugswhi chwer eboughtear li
erar e
sol dbef or et henewst ockbei ngsol d.
7)Th erei sal soacl osedat t i
car eaf orpr ov idi
ngmor est oragear eaf or
dr ugs.
8)Th erei sasepar atest orear eaf orspeci f
icOT(occupat i
onalt herapy)
requi rement s.Her ear et hei t emsr equi redf orOTl i
ke,glov es,masks,
or thopedi c sur gicalr equi rement s ar e st ored.Thi s area is called
sur gi cal stor es.
9)Th erear et wocupboar dswher ecost l
yi temsf orsur gicalneedar e
st oredl i
ket racheot omyt ubesmeshet ciskept .
I
10)nt hesamear eat herei sasepar ater ackwher eexpi r
eddr ugsar e
keptunt i
lt hepar ti
culardi st ribut ort akesi tback.Thi ssepar ater ack
ensur est hati tdoesnotgetmi xedwi t hot herdrugs.

Wewerealsoeducat
edont
hest
andar
doper
ati
ngpr
ocedur
eoff
olderf
low.
Thest
agesincl
ude;
Page7of7

Thescreeni
ngwindow.Thati
sthestagewhereprescr
ibeddrugsare
audi
tedandensuedthatt
heri
ghtdrugshavebeenprescri
bedforthe
pati
ent
.

Thedocumentat
ionstage.Att
hisst
age,
ifapr
obl
em wasdi
scovered
aft
erscreeni
ng,iti
swr itt
endownordocumentedinappropri
ate
books.

Thev al
i
dati
onwi ndow.Anotherpharmacistgoesthr
oughthedr
ugs
serv
edtoensur ethatt
hedrugsbroughtoutcorr
espondst
owhathas
beenprescr
ibed.

Thedispensi
ngwindow.Atthi
sstaget hepati
entiscal
ledandthe
drugsaregiventohim orher.Whilesdispensi
ng,anynecessar
y
counsel
li
ngoradv
iceisgi
ventothepati
ent.

I
nt hephar macy ,famil
iarizat
ionwasani mpor tantf act
or ,consi
deri
ng
thef actthatyouhav etoknowal lwherethemedi cat i
onst obeser vedare
kepton t he shelves.These medi cat
ions are pr oper l
yar ranged inthe
cabinetsi n speci fi
c patterns foreasieri denti
fication.Some ar e al
so
arrangedneat l
yev erymor ningont heservingt abl
e.Somet hatneedst obe
prepackaged ar e al so neatly done withouthesi tati
on.Ial so kepta
continuous ey e on how el ectr
on prescript
ions ar e pr i
nted and how
dispensingprocedur esarecar ri
edout.

Also,whenprescr
ipt
ionsarebroughtin,theyarecareful
lyexamined
andassessedbeforeser
v i
ngisdone.Vi gi
lanceandgui dancehelpedmea
l
otasnowIhav ebecomeanexper tinunder standi
ngprescri
pti
ons.Icoul
d
easi
l
yf i
gureoutdrugdosesandcour seoftr eatmentandpr ov
ide
appr
opr i
atel
abel
sonhowt hedrugistaken.

I
nadditi
onIwasgi v enagoodcounsel ongooddi spensingpr acti
ce
andtheneedt oadv i
sepat ientsont heirdrugr egimen.Pat i
entar eadvised
onhowt hedr ugistaken, t
hedosi ngandsomesi de-eff
ectstheymay
experi
ence.
Mostpat i
entsabusedr ugsf orinstance:theant ibioti
csandhenceneed
propercounseli
ng.Certaindr ugslikemet rondazol eandpar acetamol when
consumedwi thalcohol canleadt odeadorcauseadv ersereactions.
Pati
entsneedal lthi
sinf or
mat iont oensuret hesaf etyandef f
icacioususe
Page8of8

oft
hedr
ug.

Agai n,Ihadt hechancet opartakei nstockmanagementpr ocedures.

Stockchecki ngi sdoneev eryhal
fy earl
y.Thatisoncei n6mont hs.The
managementdeci desuponadat ef orthestockcheckingandi nf ormsthe
chiefphar macist.Thest ockchecki ngi sdonebyal lt hepharmacyst aff
except2 oft hem who wi llhandl
et hesalesdur i
ng t hatperi
od.St ock
checki ngiscompl etedwithin24hrs.Al istofallt
hedrugsi nthephar macy
i
st akenf rom thesof t
war e.A printouti st akenthepar ti
culardr ugi s
checkedandent ryismadeagai nstthedr ugnameandt hequantitypresent.
Thel istattheendoft hestockchecki ssubmit
tedtothemanagement .

Out
pat
ient
sser
vingpr
ocedur
es.

Doct orsgi
vet hepr escri
pt i
onstot hepat i
entwhi chhe/ shebr ingsi ttot he
pharmacy .ThePhar maci strecei
v est hepr escri
ption.He/ shet henpl aces
allthemedi ci
nesandi temsr equiredonebyoneatt hespacebel ow t he
dispensing counter.She t hen giv es t he prescripti
on tot he comput er
operatorforent eri
ngt hepar ti
cularst aken,amountt akenandi ssueabi l
l
forthesame.I nthemeanwhi lethephar maci stpackst hemedi cineswel l
and put sitin ahand cov er.Af tert hebi l
li sgener at
ed t hecomput er
operatorhandsi tov ertothephar maci st.Oncet hephar maci streceivest he
bil
lshegi v
esi tal ongwi t
ht hepackedmedi cinest ot hecashi er.Af ter
paymenti sdonebyt hecust omert hephar maci sthandsov erthemedi cines.
Thecashi erreceivest hecashf rom t hecust omerput sasealsay i
ngcash
receivedandgi vesacopyt othecust omerandkeepst hecopywi thhimsel f
.

OVERVI
EW OFTHEKNOWLEDGEAQUI
RED.

ThePhar macyhashel pedenhancedmyacademi cknowl edgeandski l

ls.
Classroom st udiesar econf inedonlytobooksandt heoreticallearning
majorly,butthispr acticalstudyhasr eallysol
idi
fiedmyi ntelli
gencei nthe
pharmacypr ofession.Wor kingatthephar macy, themaj ort askwasdeal ing
andhandl ingpr escr i
ptionsandaf t
ert akingabriefhi stor
yofpat ients,
askingaboutt heirpastt herapy,f
ami lybackground, socio-economi cstatus
andf i
nallydiscussi ngt heprescri
bedmedi cat
ioni nawayt ogui dethe
pati
entspr oper l
yr egardingt heuse,intake,st
orage, frequencyandt imeof
Page9of9

medi
cat
ion.

Ialsoneededt oanalyzetheprescri
ptionscri
ti
call
yinordertosor toutany
possibledr ug-dr
ugordr ug-
foodinteracti
onunderthesuperv i
sionof
Phar maci stZahreeSena.Mostoft het i
me,sheaskedmequest i
onsabout
druguseandabuse, especi
all
yshegav especial
considerat
iont o
antibi
otics( cl
ass/therapeuti
cuse)becauset hesearet hemostpr escri
bed
drugs.Al so,shegavespecialattenti
ont oanal
gesics,
CVSdr ugsand
adv i
sedont heessenceoft heBNFwhi chserv
esasagoodr eference.

Moreov er,
Ialsohadav i
videxperiencei nhowcer tai
ndr ugsar ekept
undersuitabletemper atureconditi
onsandwhy .Ialsohadachancei n
taki
ngmedi cat i
onst ock,printi
ngofel ectronicpr escri
pti
on, prepackaging
ofsomemedi cationandcounsel i
ngofpat ientsondr ugr egimen.I n
addit
ioncer t
aincont rol
leddrugslikePet hidine,Mor phineandot heropi
oids
hadadi ffer
entmodeofser vingtoprev entitsabuse.Usual l
y,patient
s
name, date,prescriberandquant i
ti
esi ssuedar er ecordedi na
managementnot ebook.

Thedeal i
ngst affco-operat edthei
rbestbypr ovidingallthebasic
i
nf or
mationIwi llneedregar dingdeali
ngwi t
hpat ient
sandcust omerreceipt
generati
on,bil
li
ngandr eceiv i
ngofcash.Theyal sopr ovidedmewi t
hthe
i
nf or
mationleafletofdiff
er entmedicinesandur gedmet oconstantl
yread
them togainmor eknowledgeaboutt hephar macody nami csand
pharmacokineticspr oper
tiesofdr ugs.Theyal somot i
vat edpati
entstotake
guidancefrom phar macist.Ireall
yappreciatedtheirstrongsenseof
teamwor kandf ri
endship.

Phar m ThelmaAlabilaalsopaidconst antv

isittot hephar macyatall
times
togiveadv i
ceandsuggest i
onsongoodpr actice.Sheal sokepta
continuouseyeont heact i
vit
iesofphar macyst udent sandguideduson
regularbasisandalsosheusedt ocheckourdut yregist
ers,r
ecordsand
attendances.Sheal sogav eexercisesandr esear chwor kswhichhas
helpedhonemyexper i
enceinphar maceuti
cs.Fur ther
mor e,
she
encour agedmet otakespeci ali
nterestint
hel atestapplicat
ionsaswel l
as
i
nv enti
onsinpharmaceut i
calsci
encesandser vices.
Page10of10

Inshort
,theexper
ienceatAchimot
aHospit
alwasaninspi
ri
ngoneand
mademeabl etounderst
andthepr
act
ical
aspectofphar
macyinan
eff
ici
entway.

CHALLENGES
Li
stedbel
owarefewchall
engest
hephar
macyf
acei
nthei
rdai
l
yact
ivi
ti
es
att
hehospit
al;

I
nadequatesuppl
yofmedicament~somemedi cati
oni nthe
pharmacyareofl
i
mit
edsupplyhencemaki ngitdiff
icultt
oserveal
l
drugsall
ocat
edonpr
escri
pti
ontosuitpat
ientssatisfacti
on.Mostof
them t
ooarenoti
nstock.

Lateprocur
ementofdrugsf
rom t
hestore~lat
edrugprocurement
wasalsoaf l
aw.Mor
eof t
enyouwoul
dhavetorunupanddownt o
getmedicat
ionfr
om t
hestor
ewhil
espati
ent
swaitrest
lessl
y.

AnxiousPati
ent
s~somepat i
entsaresoanxi ousthatt
heyexpect
tobeservedimmedi
atel
ythei
rprescr
ipt
ionsaredroppedint
hebox.
Suchanxiet
ysometi
mesleadsthem tothrowharshwordswhent hey
aredelay
edabit.

RECOMMENDATION
Ir
ecommendt hatmor
edrugst
osui
tpati
entpr
escri
ptionsshouldbe
st
ockedandthoseinl
i
mit
edsuppl
yshoul
dbemul t
ipl
iedfrequentl
y
whennecessar
y.

Medi
cat
ionpr
ocur
ementshoul
dbedoneear
lyt
osav
eti
me.

Anxi
ouspat i
ent
sshoul
dbeassur
edandt
owai
tpat
ient
lyf
ort
hei
r
medicat
ions.

CONCLUSION
Thoughser
vingonhumanit
yisnotonl
yaper
son
sresponsi
bil
i
ty,
butal
so
Page11of11

ofthecommuni ty.Thusnowor ki
spennilessrat
hert
heknowledgei
tkeeps
i
n.I
nternshipatanywor ki
ngar
eaisagr eatworki
ngexper
ience
i
tself
.AchimotaHospitalhasr
eall
yli
ft
edst at
usofgoodpharmaceut
ical
careanddev el
opment .