Summaries of the articles - Essay Example

The program is a survey based effort that has evolved out of the initial programs of the 1980s. The survey has a web based program that gathers information from working pharmacists and categorizes them in 1 of 25 categories. The findings are then published in an effort to aid current and future pharmacists in designing their own career path. In addition, the report is broken down between pharmacist and pharmaceutical scientist. In addition to listing areas as diverse as teaching and management, the findings report on workers' job satisfaction, workload, and demographics.

In an article titled New Perspective Urged to Combat Resistant Microbes author Kate Traynor reports on the recent efforts to make antimicrobial effectiveness a public health priority. The author states that antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to public health and the article urges "antimicrobial effectiveness be treated as a natural resource, much like oil, fish, or forests" (p.1248). The importance of the issue is highlighted by Ramanan Laxminarayan, a senior fellow at the prestigious Resources for the Future who is quoted as saying "Antibiotic resistance is an immediate threat to public health" (p.1246). Laxminarayan calls for the implementation of a new government policy.

The article pointed out that reducing microbial resistanc. The author states that the role of the pharmacist is pivotal in the process as they are in a position to encourage appropriate use of antimicrobials, and reduce the incidence of the over prescribing that encourages resistance. In addition, pharmacists should work with health care facilities to minimize antimicrobial exposure, while protecting the patient. Atopic March to a Dead End or Does the Theory Really Have LegsAuthor Frederic R.

Curtiss challenges the long held belief that atopic dermatitis (AD) precedes the development of asthma in an article titled Atopic March to a Dead End or Does the Theory Really Have Legs Curtiss relies on the expert opinion of Hywel Williams, Foundation Professor of Dermato-Epidemiology at the Centre of Evidence-Based Dermatology at the University of Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre's NHS Trust. Professor Williams states there is still the conventional wisdom in regards to the 'atopic march' in which AD progresses to atopic manifestations (AM).

Williams argues that , "he was not aware of any clinical trial that has evaluated the effectiveness of early aggressive treatment of AD as a means to prevent or mollify AMs such as food allergy, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and asthma" (p.810). He contends there is simply not enough evidence to confirm the 'atopic march'.One of the problems in the attempt to confirm this effect is the reliance on existing health care records and their limitations. Curtiss contends that, "It is healthy for readers to keep in mind that administrative claims were not intended to be used for research that implies accuracy and precision in coding for diagnoses and that administrative claims research necessarily suffers from