Public Relations Profile Feature - Article Example

Public Relations Profile Feature For people who work in a hospital, days are filled with taking care of patients and experiencing all phases of life from the joy of a newborn baby’s first cries to the mourning that comes when a family loses a loved one to a courageous battle with cancer. Hospital pharmacists are in the midst of all of this activity as their career requires them to be involved with patients in every step of their care. Before featuring a highlight on a hospital pharmacist, let’s first start with what you need to become a hospital pharmacist. In order to work as a hospital pharmacist, an eight year degree which results in a Doctorate in Pharmacy is required. This educational program requires extensive schooling including rigorous course work in medication and drug therapies as well as a period of pharmacy rounds where students are required to spend time in various medical environments like a retail pharmacy and hospital rotations which can include psychiatric rotations, labor and delivery rotations, operating room rotations and intensive care rotations. Upon completing pharmacy school, hopeful pharmacists must successfully take the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX). For more information on the NAPLEX complete with registration dates, test specifics and where to take the test, reference the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy at www.nabp.net/programs/examination/naplex/. After the completion of these schooling and the NAPLEX, students are transformed to licensed pharmacists. The following story introduces you to a hospital pharmacist as well as giving you some insight into her work day. As a hospital pharmacist for Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Jennifer Plath spends her days ensuring that the patients staying at Mayo Clinic are receiving the best care possible in regard to the medications that are administered to them during their care. After completing a Doctorate of Pharmacy, Jennifer was hired at Mayo Clinic Rochester and began a career as a hospital pharmacist. Motivated by the desire to help others, Jennifer’s career covers all hospital aspects at Rochester Methodist such as processing medication orders from doctors for the floors as well as the intravenous therapy center (ITC). For more information on the pharmacy opportunities within Mayo Clinic, please consult this link http://www.mayoclinic.org/pharmacy-jobs-rst/areas.html. With these responsibilities, Jennifer monitors the course of care each patient receives. This function of her job requires her to follow the charts, test results and titration levels to determine the best course of action as far as medication scheduling and infusion rates for intravenous solutions. As part of being a pharmacist, she also acts as a reference for doctors as they determine the best medications to take as well as checking for any adverse affects or reactions from varying combinations of medications. In addition to having in-depth knowledge about medications, their chemical compounds and which other medications they work well with as well as which ones they react with, hospital pharmacists are also responsible for checking medications that are prepared by pharmacy technicians. In a hospital setting, these medications include tablets and solutions given in oral form, intravenous medications and syringes as well as lotions or ointments for various conditions. As far as checking these medications, hospital pharmacists are required to ensure the completed products are the correct medication for the correct patient, check that the dose is correct and that the medication is marked with any special notifications such as refrigeration instructions, warnings and administration rate labels. Along with having knowledge about medications and monitoring patient care, hospital pharmacists are also required to be the first responders to medical emergencies, otherwise known as a Code 45. Upon bringing a code cart to the scene of the Code 45, hospital pharmacists respond to the instructions from doctors and draw up the necessary intravenous medications to help resuscitating a person with a critical condition. In turning back to Jennifer, her position at Mayo Clinic requires her to wear a code pager on specific days when she is assigned to that role. If the code pager goes off, signifying a Code 45, Jennifer grabs a code cart and rushes to the scene of the incident. Depending upon the patient who is coding, these events can last for a few moments or a few hours. For example, if a premature baby is born, Jennifer will be called to the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) to help draw up the small volume syringes to help the tiny baby with getting their little life started. In addition to her current functions as a hospital pharmacist, Jennifer also has the potential to advance her career within Mayo Clinic. This career choice would have her advance to such roles as a pharmacy supervisor, medication error management coordinator or pharmacy department administrator. These opportunities demonstrate how being a hospital pharmacist is a career choice that provides the chance for growth within an organization as well as for establishing a long and successful career. While some may have the option or preconceived notion that pharmacists simply count pills all day or deal with insurance companies, hospital pharmacists find themselves on the front lines of patient care every day. Not only do hospital pharmacists help plan and schedule patient medications, but, they are also readily available to help save lives and restore a patient’s health at a moment’s notice. Choosing to be a hospital pharmacist requires intelligence, a high sense of ethics, ability to remain clear and level-headed in a crisis situation and maintain a continuing education on pharmacy related issues. For Jennifer, life as a hospital pharmacist has provided her the opportunity to help people in life-saving ways. In addition to the sense of accomplishment that comes from this aspect of her career, she is also able to successfully provide for her family with a stable career that will help her build the future of her dreams. With the current high demand of pharmacists in today’s medical field, she does not have to worry about the economy affecting any potential job search she may have in the near future. Thanks to this security, she is set for a bright future with her career as a hospital pharmacist. Public Relations Goal The public relations goal of this article is to promote the career choice of a hospital pharmacist as well as educate people about the field of pharmacy itself and the role a pharmacist plays in a hospital setting. By highlighting the varying job functions and responsibilities of this career choice, this article hopes to attract people who are considering a career in pharmacy or looking to determine what kind of pharmacist they would want to be. The target audience for this article does not have a specific age range or gender as anyone who meets the qualification standards can enroll in pharmacy school. Along with attracting some potential new pharmacists, it is also worth noting that this article serves as an educational piece into a window into the more specialized responsibilities a hospital pharmacist must complete on a daily basis. By being used as an educational feature, this article can support the public relations goal of creating and maintaining a positive public image of hospital pharmacists and their contributions to patient call during a hospital visit. Through this public relations use for the article, health organizations can promote the extensive educations and specialized training they require of their employees. In the case of a hospital pharmacist, articles such as this could also discuss the options available to a pharmacist such as working in a pediatric pharmacy, oncology or in an operating room. Publications Choice There are multiple options one could consider when determining the best course of action in publishing this article. The medium of publication should be chosen based upon the intended purpose for the article. For example, if this article was going to be published in an effort to attract young people to the career of pharmacy as they work toward choosing a college, it would be smart to publish this on college web site or admissions page. If the article were being published as a form of continuing education for other healthcare workers, it would be pertinent to have it published in a medical journal or on a health organization’s web site with the notation of it being for continuing education or in a health organization’s internal publications for their employees. Along with these options, this article could also be printed and promoted for an organization in a pamphlet or brochure to show patients a highlight into a specific position within their department. Other publication options to consider are that if this article were published for an online medium, the article could also be supplemented with a video clip of Jennifer being interviewed about her position as well as highlight footage of her doing varying aspects of her job. Including this with an online publication of this article would allow readers to feel like they know her and have a grasp on what her job as a hospital pharmacist entails. My reasoning for choosing this type of publication method is that I feel marketing this article to prospective students and/or medical patients is that it will have the best success in building respect and admiration for hospital pharmacists. Oftentimes, positions within a hospital are more unknown about unless they are clearly visible like a nurse or a doctor. By shedding light on one of the more inclusive positions such as a hospital pharmacist, both prospective students and medical patients can gain an appreciation and understanding for the role that a hospital pharmacist plays in healthcare. Editor Pitch Invite your readers into the inner world of a hospital by featuring this article on hospital pharmacists. Within the article, readers will learn about what education is required to be a hospital pharmacist, their job responsibilities as well as meet a hospital pharmacist who is currently working in the field. Through this profile, readers will get a first-hand look at how hospital pharmacists work on the front lines of healthcare and save lives every day. This article is meant to interest, excite and create curiosity within readers about the career of a hospital pharmacist. Two-Line Summary This article discusses the job functions, education and responsibilities that are required of a hospital pharmacist. The article also introduces readers to a pharmacist who is currently working at a hospital within Mayo Clinic Rochester. References American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Member Center, 2012. Web. February 12, 2012. Mayo Clinic. Pharmacy, 2001. Web. February 12, 2012. Mayo Clinic. Mayo School of Continuous Education, 2012. Web. February 12, 2012. National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. NAPLEX, 2012. Web. February 12, 2012. U.S. Department of Labor. Pharmacists, 2009. Web. February 12, 2012. Read More