Scot H Simpson
The word “role” is defined as a “socially expected behaviour pattern usually determined by an individual’s status in a particular society”.1 Roles and role statements are used to provide context and describe what is required in terms of duties and responsibilities. These statements help us to understand the knowledge and skills that are expected of the person performing the role. Collectively, role statements identify the unique contributions of an individual or group to an organization. The constellation of roles and role statements can also be used to communicate to internal and external stakeholders what they should expect from that individual or group. Furthermore, role statements can be used to establish an agreed set of expectations, to guide development of policies, and to assess performance.
Our primary role as pharmacists is to be the medication therapy experts in the health care system.2–4 Within this role, we are committed to patient care by ensuring the safe and effective use of medications.3 We may also have generic roles as educators, advocates, managers, mentors, collaborators, and scholars.2,4–6 The degree to which these additional roles are required for each of us will depend on our respective practice sites, experience, competencies, interests, and other factors. In this issue of the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (CJHP), 4 articles focus on examples of these additional roles.
In an Original Research study, LeBlanc and others7 focused on their role as educators to help colleagues learn to use laboratory monitoring effectively. As medication therapy experts, we pharmacists need to be able to use all of the resources available to us, including laboratory test results, to ensure optimal medication therapy for a patient. In addition, our profession is embracing the evolution to become more actively involved in medication decision-making, with many provinces now including the initiation (or prescription) of therapy within pharmacists’ scope of practice.8 Therefore, it is essential that we have access to current laboratory test results, as well as the authorization to order laboratory tests when required. It is encouraging that many provinces have or are actively pursuing policy to allow pharmacists to order and interpret laboratory results.8 Yet it is also important to know how to use this tool properly—a learning need recognized by LeBlanc and others.7 In their article, these authors describe the development and pilot testing of an educational program to help pharmacists request medication-related laboratory tests appropriately and to use information from the tests when making medication therapy decisions.
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In their article in the Innovations in Pharmacy Practice section, Stacey and others9 describe their role as advocates to help improve pharmacy practice in a Ugandan hospital. Pharmacists’ expertise in medication therapy should not be limited by international borders, especially when there are problems with access to essential medications. Indeed, important organizations, such as Pharmacists Without Borders—Canada (http://psfcanada.org/), have been established to help organize distribution networks and medication management strategies aimed at improving the health of the population in developing countries. In their article, Stacey and others9 describe how they used the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s 2008 Basel Statements on the future of hospital pharmacy10 as a template to help the management team and pharmacy staff of St Mary’s Lacor Hospital to achieve their vision for hospital pharmacy practice. These actions and achievements are a great example of how to promote the role of pharmacists in the development and implementation of health procedures and policies.4
Finally, the Point Counterpoint debate in this issue explores the role of hospital pharmacy managers, addressing in particular the question of whether they should maintain a clinical practice.11,12 Interestingly, our counterpart to the south—the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)—recently updated its statement on the role and responsibilities of the pharmacy executive in hospitals and health systems.6 In its statement, the ASHP recognizes the importance of positioning the pharmacy executive appropriately within the organization to ensure effective utilization of the person’s expertise in decisions related to medication management. The ASHP statement describes various qualifications (such as additional training in business administration) and responsibilities (including strategic planning, overview of the medication management system, management of department operations and human resources, and assurance of quality outcomes). Although the statement also notes that the pharmacy executive should have in-depth knowledge of clinical therapeutics, it provides no specific guidance on maintaining a clinical practice. The authors of the Pro and Con sides of the debate in this issue of the CJHP raise important points to consider,11,12 and I encourage you to read both arguments and discuss this topic with your colleagues.
The foregoing are just a few of the many roles and responsibilities that we have as pharmacists. Along with these roles in our professional lives, it is important to also acknowledge the many roles we have in our personal lives with family and friends. As we move forward in this New Year, we should pause and reflect on our personal and professional roles, because they define who we are and what others expect from us.
1 The Merriam-Webster dictionary. New edition. Springfield (MA): Merriam-Webster, Incorporated; 2016. 939 pp.
2 Model standards of practice for Canadian pharmacists. Ottawa (ON): National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities; 2009.
3 Hospital pharmacists: information paper on enhancing quality and safety in medication use. Ottawa (ON): Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists; 2010.
4 Educational outcomes for first professional degree programs in pharmacy (entry-to-practice pharmacy programs) in Canada. Edmonton (AB): Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada; 2010.
5 Miyares MA. The attending pharmacist: roles and responsibilities. Hosp Pharm. 2013;48(9):713–4.
6 ASHP statement on the roles and responsibilities of the pharmacy executive. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2016;73(5):329–32. 
7 LeBlanc JM, Cameron-Coffill K, Symes JL, Kane-Gill S, Duplisea K, Mowatt J. Implementation and assessment of a pharmacy educational program concerning laboratory monitoring for medications. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2017;70(1):19–26.
8 Pharmacists’ expanded scope of practice. Ottawa (ON): Canadian Pharmacists Association; 2016 [cited 2016 Nov 23]. Available from: www.pharmacists.ca/pharmacy-in-canada/scope-of-practice-canada/
9 Stacey D, Vaillancourt R, Brander L, Chenel N, McMahon E, Wiebe J, et al. Use of the 2008 Basel consensus statements to assess, realign, and monitor pharmacy practice at a tertiary care hospital in Northern Uganda: illustrative case study, part 2. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2017;70(1):35–46.
10 The Basel Statements on the future of hospital pharmacy. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2009;66(5 Suppl 3):S61–6.
11 Beresford L, Dagenais R, Hong J, Louie S. Should institutional pharmacy managers maintain an active clinical practice? The “pro” side. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2017;70(1):47–8.
12 Leung L, Thorne-Humphrey L, Tkachuk S, Dalen D. Should institutional pharmacy managers maintain an active clinical practice? The “con” side. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2017;70(1):49–50.
Competing interests: None declared. ( Return to Text )
Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, VOLUME 70, NUMBER 1, January-February 2017