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Status and Quota
By Adam Pattison Rathbone
16 Nov 2010
I recently read an article in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, concerning the promotion of the status of pharmacists in society. The article was most invigorating and encouraged the idea that change was upon the horizon and once again, 'the role of the pharmacist' would revolutionize.
In my eyes, everyone (meaning RPS board members, presidents, politicians, journalists, GPhC members and even your friendly, neighbourhood pharmacist) want the pharmacy profession to change. All I need to ask is why?To make better use of the NHS budget; don’t hospital pharmacists do this on a day to day basis anyway?
To give the profession a higher social status; again, doesn’t every pharmacist try and do this?
To make patients safer; do I really need to go on?
Pharmacy as a career, especially in hospital, gives you freedom to create your role. You can be the type of pharmacist who speaks to every patient and works clinically, or you can be the type of pharmacist who works at the PCT and deals with finances who never speaks to patients. The role of a pharmacist is always in flux.
Let’s stop talking about changing the ‘role of the pharmacist’, and just let pharmacists be pharmacists.
