Creating a desired future for pharmacy education and professional practice in Argentina: Summary of a planning workshop

The need to know the current state of professional practice in Argentina in different areas, and the absence of systematic information about it, led to the organisation of a workshop with pharmacists from several different practice settings. The workshop provided a space for reflection and dialogue for the participants committed to improving pharmacy education and professional practice in Argentina. The objective of this report was to document the main points from this workshop; which allowed the participants to reinforce their identity as pharmacists, review health policies in Argentina and identify the strengths and weaknesses of pharmacy education and professional practice in order to work on the gaps observed. A list of future actions to be implemented in the work setting was drawn up and the representatives who would allow the implementation of necessary action plans and who expressed their commitment to act upon them were identified. This experience highlighted the need to strengthen the professional role of the pharmacist and demonstrated that this type of activity could contribute to pharmacy education and professional practice, and would allow the gathering of useful information for future guidelines to bring about the necessary changes for improvement of patient care. This report aims to share the results of the activities performed that reflected the present situation and the need for change. By transmitting their experience, the authors will allow others to replicate and adapt it to different contexts. This report contributes to the global knowledge regarding issues that impact pharmacy practice from the Argentinian perspective.