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Letters to the Editor
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The Profession
What is a community pharmacist?
From Mr H. R. Patel, FRPharmS
I have read recent correspondence on needle exchange and methadone services
and I am saddened by some comments, which have made me question what
a profession is and what a community pharmacist is.
A profession can be simply defined as a paid occupation, especially one
involving training and a formal qualification. A more mature definition
would include adherence to a set of values comprising both a formally
agreed-upon code of conduct and the informal expectations of colleagues,
customers and society. The key values for pharmacy include acting in
a patient’s interest, responsiveness to the health needs of society,
maintaining the highest standards of excellence in the practice of community
pharmacy and in the generation and dissemination of knowledge.
In addition to pharmaceutical knowledge and skills, community pharmacists
should present psychosocial and humanistic qualities such as caring,
empathy, humility and compassion, as well as social responsibility and
sensitivity to people’s culture and beliefs. All these qualities
are expected of members of highly trained professions. I firmly believe
the most important elements of professionalism and community pharmacy
to be altruism, accountability, duty, excellence, honour and integrity,
and respecting the needs of the multicultural and diverse society that
we live in. Following recent knife attacks in pharmacies I would also
add courage — courage to confront people who behave in a way the
civil society disapproves of but, more importantly, courage to confront
the inner voice of prejudice. Just as courage takes its stand by others
in challenging situations, so compassion takes its stand with others
in their distress. Compassion is a value that takes seriously the reality
of other persons, their inner lives, their emotions, as well as their
external circumstances. It is an active disposition toward fellowship
and sharing.
Rousseau said that “compassion is a natural feeling, which, by
moderating the violence of love of self in each individual, contributes
to the preservation of the whole species. It is this compassion that
hurries us without reflection to the relief of those who are in distress.” Happily
the vast majority of community pharmacists’ work is based on the
above values and is expressed into action by helping all kinds of people.
It is this belief that attracted me to community pharmacy and it is the
positive experience with the public that drives my passion for pharmacy
and in particular community pharmacy.
Whatever one says, I think community pharmacy has made much progress
to meet the needs of all communities locally due to the efforts of many
compassionate and professional people.
Hemant Patel
Brentwood, Essex
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal