Education, Training, and Evaluation of Hospital Compounding Personnel
Author(s): McElhiney Linda F
Issue: Sep/Oct 2006 - Dermatology
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Page(s): 361-368
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Abstract: Many practicing pharmacists who graduated in the past 20 years have little or no compounding education, training, or experience. With the change to the entry-level PharmD degree now underway in schools of pharmacy, the primary emphasis is on clinical practice instead of traditional pharmacy practice. Little or no compounding education is offered or required, even though demand for pharmacy compounding is steadily increasing. Since compounding is a specialized division of the hospital pharmacy department, the compounding staff is held to a higher in-house standard than the rest of the pharmacy department. According to United States Pharmacopeia Chapter <795>, any pharmacist or licensed healthcare professional who is responsible for preparing compounds is a “compounder.” This definition includes compounding pharmacy technicians. Although compounding has always been part of hospital pharmacy practice, few hospital pharmacies have dedicated laboratories or staff for the specialized tasks of nonsterile compounding
Related Keywords: Linda F. McElhiney, PharmD, RPh, pharmacy education, hospital pharmacy, compounding, training, competency, USP, assessment
Related Categories: BUSINESS, LEGAL, SUPPORT, PHARMACY EDUCATION, UNITED STATES PHARMACOPEIA CONVENTIONS, HOSPITAL PHARMACY