The Multi-faceted Role of the Pharmacist in Alberta Essay

The role of the pharmacist within Albertas health care system is multifaceted and constantly evolving. First and foremost, the pharmacist is a care provider who uses their knowledge, skills, and professional judgment to provide pharmaceutical care and facilitate management of patients medication and overall health. Subsequently, they are also a collaborator who work in concert with the team to provide effective, quality health care, and more importantly, to optimize patients quality of life. This is especially significant in our resource-strained health care system as pharmacists are on the front line of patient interaction and treatment; this ease of accessibility allows them to be a first-line health professional for patients and to†¦show more content†¦It also allows for targeted education and management of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and HIV and decreases complications due to medication mismanagement or lack of physician acc essibility. As specialist accessibility is even more limited for most people, pharmacists fill this missing gap by providing patients with health education, promoting lifestyle changes such as diet, smoking cessation, and exercise, and overseeing their individualized drug therapy. For several years, I also had the privilege to be a representative and HIV Educator for AIDS Calgary, an organization that promotes advocacy, harm-reduction, and acceptance of those living with HIV/AIDS. This experience exemplified the crucial role of pharmacists in the management of chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS, as well as their contribution to advancing health and well-being of a vulnerable population through advocacy. In my current role as a Crisis Line Support Volunteer at the Calgary Distress Centre, I peer counsel individuals in crisis, of which a significant portion have underlying mental health issues. They readily identify the pharmacist as a first-line resource for their medication managem ent and as an easily accessible, non-judgmental source of health information. Lastly, working as a clinical research assistant for psoriasis clinical drug