Abstract

Clinical pharmacy, a lifesaving profession that was traditionally related to compounding and dispensing of medicine has now shifted to more patient-centered activities such as pharmaceutical care. A clinical pharmacist could better provide this service as he/she is directly related to patient care. In this review, clinical pharmacists were classified into three stages, learning, applied and creative pharmacist so that he/she can provide better services to the patient. Furthermore, the qualities, which are essential for the clinical pharmacist to be a competent person including strong medical science background, good communication skills, up-to-date knowledge, creativity and innovation, advanced clinical skills, leadership, behavior and social expectations, and intellectual ability were also discussed. The aim of this review is to make the clinical pharmacists aware of their role and responsibilities at each stage, to fulfill these roles effectively rectifying the flaws at each stage by identifying solutions. Moreover, acquiring these qualities specified in this review, it would help clinical pharmacist to transform into a competent health care provider leading to provision of better health care services.