Human Geography in the Life of a Pharmacist “How is the study of geography and geographic concepts going to be helpful in the study of pharmacy? ” The use of maps when tracking the outbreak of a disease has a direct impact on pharmacists and others in the medical field. For an example, maps can be used to track the origin and spread of an epidemic throughout a specific region or the world. Using maps would provide doctors with an explanation of a potential cause of the disease and how many people it has affected.
This information would help pharmacists be aware of who their patients will be and help them to decide the best way to treat the disease. We learned that the United States is made up of many perceptual regions such as the North, the South, the Midwest, and the East. Every region has a shared trait that is either physical or cultural. As I begin my studies in pharmacy, I do not know where I will end up working—it may be the Midwest or it could be in any other region of the United States.
That being said, it is important for me to apply the geographic concept of regions as a pharmacist. Wherever I work, I will have to be aware of the culture of that particular region because each region differs slightly from its neighboring regions. They are all unique through language, religion, music, food, and other traditions. By identifying the traits of the region, it will help me, as a pharmacist, understand my patients on a more personal level.
As pharmacists are interacting with hundreds of patients throughout the day, it is important that they recognize people’s differences to be compassionate and impactful in my job. I now understand that the United States is a multination state and that there are many cultures, religions, and ethnicities present. It is important that pharmacists acknowledge the diversity of their patients and treat them all with respect. Human geography will help me as a pharmacist because I will be able to have a sense of appreciation for all of my patients, from every nation.
Although it does not seem like it, understanding diffusion is very helpful for a pharmacist. Diffusion of a cultural trait depends on the time and distance from the cultural hearth, but some cultural traits do not diffuse. This is a key geographical concept that will be helpful in pharmacy because some practices are not acceptable in some cultures, therefore do not diffuse into that culture. Some religions disapprove of practices such as divorce, abortion, or using contraceptives, while other cultures forbid eating certain kinds of meat and other foods.
This affects pharmacists because some patients may be encouraged to use contraceptives or eat certain meats to stay healthy, but knowing these things are not deemed acceptable in their culture will affect what medications I am able to give a patient and how I direct them to get healthy again. Being cognizant of cultural barriers to diffusion is vital for proper patient care. Another geography concept that has a direct impact on pharmacists is population densities. Population density is a measure of the number of people relative to the land size.
This figure can be reported for an entire country, however, at a larger scale, it can be calculated for cities within a country. Within an area of high population density, comes a greater need for health care, therefore a greater need for health care professionals. When I graduate from college and I am searching for a job, knowing about population density would help me because I would know to look near larger cities with high population densities for the best chance of finding employment.
Also, later in my career if I would want to switch companies and find a new job, remembering the concept of population density would assist me in finding new employment. As we studied the rise and fall of populations, I saw a direct correlation to the career of pharmacy. The crude birth rate (CBR) is the number of live births per year per thousand people in the population. Likewise, the crude death rate (CDR) is the number of deaths per year per thousand people. Together these rates determine the make-up of a population.
As people age, they eventually begin to suffer from health problems and need medical care. An area with an older population would be more likely to need pharmacists and the presence of cists in these areas would be even more critical. With a larger aging population, pharmacists will be dispensing and distributing more medication and the types of medications will be more tailored to their aging population. Because of the older population, pharmacists in these areas will work more with medications for blood pressure, diabetes, and anticoagulation.
Although the type of medications pharmacists work with may seem completely unrelated to human geography, they actually go hand-in-hand. Knowing about the demographics and makeup of the population in an area helps pharmacists understand their patients and the health issues they will be working with on a daily basis. Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. In 2014, the United States had an IMR below 15, one of lower IMRs in the world. However, there are some countries in Africa with IMRs over 100. As a pharmacy student, this number was extremely shocking to me!
When | read more, I learned that many infant deaths are due to pregnancy complications and health-related problems with the mothers. As I continue through my schooling, I would like to learn about how to help countries with high IMRs by ensuring that they have proper medical care for their mothers and newborns. Many expecting mothers suffer from respiratory distress syndrome, diarrhea, infections, and malnutrition. By providing better health care for people in these undeveloped countries, it would ensure safer and healthier living conditions that would lower the IMR in these struggling countries.
Using this knowledge of population and health geography, I am more 3 OF 4 educated on how I can make a difference in the world because it applies directly to the role of a pharmacist and other health care professionals. Organizations such as Doctors Without Borders work to fight diseases and high mortality rates in underprivileged countries. Someday I would like to work with this organization, or a similar organization, to provide health care to those in other countries who are less fortunate.
Prior to studying human geography, I would have thought that there was no possibility that I could apply geography to my career as a pharmacist. After the first half of the semester, I have learned that geography plays an integral part in almost every career and we can apply geographic concepts to almost any area of our lives. I have learned how much human geography will affect my studies and future career. As we continue to study other aspects of human geography, I look forward to learning about the other ways in which my career will be impacted by human geography
