What is wrong with patient education programs?

The importance of patient education is recognized everywhere. Why, then, are there so many inadequate programs? A study of nursing and medical faculty at a major medical center reveals three key barriers to providing the best possible information.

Pharmacy in interprofessional education: a course on images of the health professions in the media.

For the pharmacist or pharmacy student, who may not appear frequently on the hospital floor, lack of interaction with other health professionals may have unfortunate consequences. At a time when pharmacy is asserting its clinical role, isolation can be particularly counterproductive. Pharmacy students will daily encounter future colleagues who characterize (or caricature) the pharmacist as a "pill counter," who works in a lost corner of a chain "drugstore" or in the dingy basement of a hospital.

Women's health. Changing definitions; changing times.

The implications of the above observations and questions are far from prescriptive. During this time of rapid social change and economic retrenchment, there is a need for both individual and professional clarification of values. An awareness of one's philosophy of life and philosophy of nursing requires constant re-evaluation and may reflect personal developmental changes, changes within nursing, and changes in social demands.