1 Pharmacy As A Profession

2 Core features of a profession: Trait Theory

3

4 Applying the criteria of “Trait Theory” to pharmacy Pharmacists → no. of professional traits. So, pharmacy is a profession.

5

6 Promotion of pharmacists as 1st port of call for health issues 1 st port of call without appointments Professional knowledge Pt’s symptoms Self Tx Referral to other services

7 List of medical abbreviations

8 Abbrev.Meaning a.c.Before food a.d.Right ear ad lib.Freely as wanted a.l.Left ear alt. dieEvery other day alt. h.Every other hour a.m.Morning a.n.Before the night aq.Water

9 a.s.Left ear a.u.Each ear aurist.Ear drops b.d. or bdTwice a day b.i.d. or bidTwice a day gtt.Drop h.Hour h.d.At bedtime h.s.At bedtime i.d.during the day i.d.the same i.d.Intradermal maneIn the morning narist.Nasal drops

10 nocteAt night o.c.Eye ointment o.d. or odDaily o.d.Right eye o.l.Left eye o.m.In the morning o.n.At night o.r.Right eye o.s.Left eye o.u.Each eye p.c.After food p.m.Afternoon

11 Rx or p.o. or poOrally p.r.Rectally p.r.n.As occasion requires (as needed) p.v.Vaginally q.every q.2.h.Every two hours q.4.h.Every four hours q.6.h.Every six hours q.8.h.Every eight hours q.d. or qdEvery day q.d.s.Four times a day q.h.Every hour, hourly q.i.d. or qidFour times a day q.q.h.Every four hours q.s.A sufficient quantity s.i.d. or sidOnce a day Sig. or S.Write on the label

12 SL.SublingualSublingual, under the tongue S.O.S.When required Stat.Immediately, with no delay t.d.s.Three times a day t.i.d. or tidThree times a day top.Topically, applied to the skin ut dict. or u.d.As directed ung.Ointment

13 Do-not-use list (official in the United States) Do not usePotential problemUse instead U (unit) Mistaken for “0” (zero), the number “4” (four) or “cc” unit IUIU (International Unit) Mistaken for IV (intravenous) or the number 10 (ten) International Unit Q.D., QD, q.d., qd (daily) Q.O.D., QOD, q.o.d, qod (every other day) Mistaken for each other. Period after the Q mistaken for "I" and the "O" mistaken for "I" (q.i.d. is four times a day dosing) daily every other day Trailing zero (X.0 mg) Lack of leading zero (.X mg) Decimal point is missed X mg 0.X mg MS Can mean morphine sulfate or magnesium sulfatemorphine sulfatemagnesium sulfate morphine sulfate MSO4 and MgSO4Confused for one anothermorphine sulphate and magnesium sulfate For possible future inclusion in the official list Do not usePotential problemUse instead > (greater than) < (less than) Misinterpreted as the number "7" (seven) or the letter "L". Confused for one another "greater than" "less than" Abbreviations for drug names Misinterpreted due to similar abbreviations for multiple drugs Write drug names in full Apothecary units Unfamiliar to many practitioners. Confused with metric units metric for the number "2" (two)at ccMistaken for U (units) when poorly writtenmL or milliliters µg Mistaken for mg (milligrams) resulting in one thousandfold overdosemilligrams mcg or micrograms