The fourth Tuesday in September is the Day of the Pharmacy Assistant in the Netherlands. For anyone in the Netherlands who does not speak or read Dutch, the English translation of the article “Het belang van een onmisbare schakel in de gezondheidszorg.” About one of the links in Dutch healthcare.
Healthcare in the Netherlands
"Medicine shop"
The special thing about pharmacy staff is just that: they are there. You only have to walk into a pharmacy and you see them. Making the connection with healthcare, that’s what it’s all about. For many people, it’s still a bit about the idea of a kind of “medicine shop,” where you may or may not have to pay for certain things. It is a considerable exaggeration of things and does not correspond to reality.
Without kicking others within the healthcare system in the teeth, the role of assistants is vital. It’s true: there are others who play an equally important role. The Day of Pharmacy Assistants is just a day where the pharmacy assistant takes centre stage. It would be illogical to pay attention to another healthcare branch or other healthcare professionals, wouldn’t it? Especially when you consider that while the visibility of the staff is well established, it is only the relationship that is made by some.
It is good to take a look at the job responsibilities of a pharmacy assistant.
Dispensing of medicines
The pharmacy assistant is often the first person the patient has contact with when collecting medicines. Here, the assistant checks whether the medicine matches the doctor's prescription advises on use and answers patients' questions. This may seem like a routine operation, but it requires great accuracy and responsibility, as a small mistake can have serious consequences for the patient's health.
Information and advice
Besides dispensing medication, the pharmacy assistant plays an important role in educating patients. Many people do not know exactly how to take their medication, or have questions about side effects. The assistant must be able to convey medical information in understandable language and reassure the patient where necessary.
Pharmaceutical care services
Pharmacy assistants are involved in monitoring medication safety. This involves checking for possible interactions between different drugs a patient is taking, as well as for hypersensitivities or allergies. This requires in-depth knowledge of pharmacology and precise practice to minimise risks.
Administratieve taken
A less visible but equally important task of the pharmacy assistant is keeping records. This includes processing prescriptions, maintaining patient records, ordering drugs and checking stocks.
Qualities
Besides these qualities, there is something else that is important. That is the ability to work with precision. The work of a pharmacy assistant requires precision work. 100 micrograms or 100 milligrams. That is a particularly big difference. This can cause serious health damage. This involves another quality and that is the ability to work well together. Prescriptions are checked. For this, people have to be able to rely on each other. A good relationship within the team is therefore very important.
Does all this make the day more important than other days linked to care? It doesn’t. The day shows that there is an indispensable link to care. It is not that it is the only indispensable link. It is one of many indispensable links and we can be quite proud of that. For that, we are quite allowed to express appreciation. More than we often do. It often happens that this is considered ordinary, when it is not so ordinary at all.
Recognition as an indispensable link
Awareness
Encouraging expertise enhancement
The Day of the Pharmacy Assistant also provides healthcare professionals with an opportunity to promote expertise. This amounts to in-service training and increasing experience and expertise. By the way, a day like today is not the only time in the year when this takes place. Consider this an ongoing process.
Improving team spirit
What does the future look like?
One of the indispensable links
Pharmacy assistants are one of the indispensable links in our healthcare system. This is precisely why a day like the Day of the Pharmacy assistant is a necessity.
