Many
pharmacists are like myself and have spent the years since 1996-1997
changing workflows, becoming accredited, completing QCPP accreditation,
attending conferences and generally up skilling as fast as we can
in between being there for our families and our businesses.
The problem is that many of us have reached great goals in these
areas but we are being pulled back into 'dispensing supply' roles
and having to now lose control over what we have built up as we
do not have good quality pharmacists to join the team.
Succession planning is a vital key in the plan that many of us started
but not all of us were able to make as effective as possible for
a variety of reasons.
In Pharmacy
Review April 2003, Lance Emerson, Director, Rural and Professionals
Services Pharmacy Guild of Australia, states 'there remains indications
of a significant and progressively growing shortage of community
pharmacists, with a deficit of between around 1800-3000 pharmacists
by 2010.
If these projections are correct, then in the medium term there
will be little time for pharmacists to participate in new cognitive
activities, and they may even continue to struggle to deliver
the current ones.'
Lance goes
on to discuss the negotiations for the fourth agreement and the
need not to 'over-promise and under-deliver.'
This is where I feel I sit right now and I do not see any light
at the end of my tunnel.
I have spent years and a great deal of effort in building up the
cognitive services that our business delivers.
We now have an excellent mix of the supply, clinical and innovative
roles for our pharmacists to undertake and deliver but I cannot
find the pharmacists who want to be involved in these areas.
I run the risk of having to say to my 'partners' in these alliances
that I can no longer provide these services.
This will affect both my business and the personal satisfaction
that I achieve as a pharmacist.
With the development
of the new Community Pharmacy Training Package for Pharmacy Assistants
and the extension of the areas of practice in the higher certificate
levels, it is timely to re-examine which areas of our daily activities
could be assigned to other members of our team.
It is often a wise investment to bring in an 'outsider' to provide
input and discussion when looking at appropriate staffing, time
management and workflow designs.
Though you may not find that their initial comments sit well on
your shoulders, with careful pre-briefing on your 'ultimate goals
and expectations,' you may be surprised how some of their ideas
and comments crystallise into a realistic undertaking late at
night while chasing ZZZ's.
As I read
the Pharmacy Guild R&D grants, the university grants and commissioned
project lists each month I am inspired as to where community pharmacy
could move our professional services areas into. It is so disheartening
to knock on doors for months on end 'selling' your professional
services, then finally start to see the requests for dosage administration
aids, domiciliary medication reviews and liaison service counselling
come through the mail only to find that you are now faced with
an acute shortage of pharmacists able to help you deliver these
services.
The development
of these new and expanded services has come at a cost both monetary
and in people hours.
While negotiators have done well to gain us what little we receive
for activities like medication reviews and CMI, it is timely to
expect a fair compensation for our efforts when negotiating the
next agreement. Many of us already provide QUM activities, dosage
administration aids, liaison services and clinical intervention
and counselling services that are not renumerated either at all
or very poorly.
Pharmacy and nursing have missed out in funding these 'extra'
roles we perform as a vital part of the health care team and I
am hopeful that models will be developed that provide an equitable
payment system for the many, many community pharmacists in Australia
who are wanting to provide these services.
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