LESSON 1
PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES IN PHARMACY
Section I. GENERAL
1-1. CONSIDERATIONS INVOLVED IN SELECTING A REFERENCE
a. At this point, you may already possess a strong background in pharmacology.
However, if you do not take steps to maintain and expand your knowledge in
pharmacology, you will quickly find yourself out-of-date in terms of drugs and drug
therapy. Furthermore, no individual knows everything about every drug used in
medicine. What happens when a drug-related question arises? What sources of drug
information should be readily available in the pharmacy? Which reference should be
consulted to find the answer to a specific question? These questions will be examined
in this lesson.
b. This lesson does not attempt to every available pharmaceutical reference.
Instead, this lesson will focus on some references that are commonly used in the
practical of pharmacy.
c. Some references, by design, are tailored to meet the needs of those persons
who have strong backgrounds in pharmacy, physiology, and/or medicine. Therefore,
you should carefully select references that are written to a level comparable to your
background and experience. An individual who lacks a technical background can
become frustrated when reading a highly technical reference.
1-2. HUMAN SOURCES
Use human sources of information. Most health care professionals are more than
willing to share their knowledge and experience. Carefully identify those professionals
who are willing to instruct you and/or answer your questions. Also, you should be
willing to share your knowledge and experience with others.
Section II. PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNALS
1-3. OVERVIEW
a. Journals serve as excellent sources of drug information. For the most part,
the information contained in journals is up-to-date. Journals reflect the state of the art of
that discipline at that point in time.
MD0804
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