PTs Knowledge of Pharmacology PDF

Opposing team PTs should have a deep knowledge of pharmacology and they should have the ability to prescribe medications. Mnai Alfaresi 2201121397 Dareen Mansour 2201129781 Abdullah Shihab 2191115456 Hamad Haider 2201119696 Open statement The ultimate goal of physical therapy is to improve patients...

Opposing team PTs should have a deep knowledge of pharmacology and they should have the ability to prescribe medications. Mnai Alfaresi 2201121397 Dareen Mansour 2201129781 Abdullah Shihab 2191115456 Hamad Haider 2201119696 Open statement The ultimate goal of physical therapy is to improve patients function and quality of life, help patients with pain management, improve mobility or ROM, and assist patients with movement-related injuries. Those goals are not always achieved through prescription of medications. Argument 1 2 3 Our academic curriculum Patient safety PT eliminate the need for medication Our academic curriculum Just one pharmacology course might not be sufficient to fully understand and prescribe medications. It would have been more helpful if we had started the course earlier, like before our third-year rotations. Our knowledge about medication is quite limited, and we mainly learn through experience in clinical settings rather than just from our study materials. Patient safety Without extensive training in pharmacology and drug interactions, there is a risk that physiotherapists might not fully understand the complexities of medication management, potentially leading to adverse drug reactions or interactions, and compromising patient safety. Physical therapists are evidence-based health care professionals who offer cost-effective treatment that can improve mobility and relieve pain. They will try to reduce the need for surgery and prescription drugs and allow patients to participate in a recovery plan designed for their specific needs. Rebuttal 1 : side effects Pharmacy and physical therapy are completely different fields. In the pharmacy program, they dive deep into studying medications and their side effects and as you can see, we don’t. So, fully understanding all the side effects of medications requires extensive study and specialization beyond our 4-year bachelor's degree program, which covers various subjects. I agree with you in the part that knowing the side effects is important so I can have an idea about what the patient may experience during my sessions, but would you think that having this knowledge would give me the power to stop them or prevent them from happening? This is beyond our ability as much as it’s beyond pharmacists ability. Rebuttal 2 : communication with other health care providers As a physical therapist, it's crucial for me to collaborate and communicate with other healthcare professionals regarding my patients' physical progress and strategies to minimize the reliance on medication. This allows for a comprehensive approach to their care and emphasizes the importance of non-pharmacological interventions. As healthcare team, each professional is responsible to provide information about the state of the patient regarding his own treatment plan, and discussing the medications is part of the pharmacist’s role Rebuttal 3 : patient education The most important education a physical therapist can give to their patient is education about their postural correction and importance of compliance to exercises. Patients come to OPD already knowing what medications they are taking and for what purpose. Rebuttal 4 : OTC medications with some advises Recommending OTC medications without prescribing rights might blur professional boundaries and lead to misuse or misunderstanding of a physiotherapist's role and expertise. Encouraging physiotherapists to advise on medications, even OTC ones, could increase the risk of adverse reactions or interactions not within their scope to manage fully. Instead, physiotherapists should focus on their area of expertise and collaborate with pharmacists or physicians for medication advice, ensuring patient safety and adherence to professional guidelines. The art of physiotherapy is not only to relieve pain but also to find and treat the underlying cause of the problem , so why we will need the medication. “The greatest medicine of all is teaching people how not to need it. —”Hippocrates