From Mr I. Strachan, MRPharmS
SIR,—With the many challenges today, the profession must recognise those whose expertise is most appropriate to meet the needs of the future. The world of public relations demands an array of skills. A prerequisite, of course, is an appreciation of the facts, but stirring communication skills together with sharp intellect and an ability to arouse passion, confidence and inspiration to members are equally vital. But perhaps, most significantly, the ability to counter the often futile rhetoric of our colleagues has never been more necessary, indeed essential. As practitioners in our individual pharmacies, we send out a variety of messages to the public. This can serve to impede the attainment of extended roles. Our response must be to achieve our own polished and highly professional public relations body, combining the slickness and competence of our colleagues.
An array of opportunities to highlight the value of pharmacy must be seized from the ashes of failed government policies, health inequalities or expensive alternatives to pharmacy provision. As a resource, our contributions are extensive and workable, representing the most practical alternatives, but our body language does not convey or celebrate this belief in ourselves. We are sadly too busy responding reactively, too busy rebuking false claims, and responding to the offences of others, when surely we must be more imaginative and prepared to counter these claims more instantaneously. Attack has always been, in my view, the best form of defence, so let us use it.
The profession must be projected with absolute confidence on issues such as prescribing rules, therapeutic drug monitoring and health promotion. Why should our suitability be sacrificed because of the more vociferous elements of other health professions. Let us redefine the committees responsible for managing our future. We should acknowledge, of course, the need for academia, but equally respect the need for more dynamic members who are capable of representing with unerring conviction what they say. An ability to reveal with arrogance our own pockets of tricks and use them to respond when colleagues attempt to question our legitimate worth must be our strategy for the future.
Ian Strachan Bury, Lancashire