A pharmaceutical care challenge: recruiting, training, and retaining pharmaceutical care practitioners.

We do not claim to have all the answers when it comes to implementing an ideal pharmaceutical care model. We are not even sure what all the characteristics of such a model should be. We have recognized, based on our interpretation of the model, that meeting the demands of pharmaceutical care will require changes and advanced skills in our staff. We continue to work in creating an environment where the concept of pharmaceutical care can flourish. Our department has focused on defining and then providing pharmaceutical care through individual practitioners and patient care teams. More employee empowerment with less management control was the key to facilitating initial phases in our pharmaceutical care model. A successful orientation process has further enhanced our abilities to hire new graduates and/or experienced practitioners for our open positions. We believe we have taken some significant first steps toward recruiting, training, and developing our staff to become competent and satisfied with their newly developing role as pharmaceutical care practitioners.