The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 272 No 7301 p684
29 May 2004

Society summary

President promotes a personal professional pledge for pharmacists

The idea of pharmacists making a personal professional pledge was put forward by the President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Gill Hawksworth, during the Society’s branch representatives’ meeting on 13 May.

The President said that she put her first thoughts about a pledge in an article in The Journal (PJ, 20/27 December, 2003, p849). Behind it was the realisation that, for various reasons, the Society’s registration ceremonies were poorly attended and she felt it was time to think about a new way forward. She had learnt that in a number of other countries new pharmacists gave pledges.

There had already been some consultation on the idea, and there was a strong agreement in principle for some form of oath or pledge for new pharmacists. There was some dislike of the word “pledge”, with “affirmation”, “oath” or “commitment” being preferred.
It was suggested that new pharmacists should take the pledge or oath at a branch meeting, where they would be welcomed into the branch by the chairman.
Some people suggested that the pledge should not be just for new registrants. It could be used by members who wished to reaffirm their allegiance to the profession. There was also some support for a written pledge rather than a spoken one.
Nicola Gray (member of Council) said that she had attended a graduation ceremony during which graduates in medicine affirmed the Hippocratic oath. If medical students took such an oath, perhaps there should be some commonality across the health professions.

Dr Gray noted that students involved in the consultation thought the pledge should be incorporated into the degree course early on. She agreed with that. If students saw the oath in the first week of pharmacy school, it would reinforce what they were aiming for, and give them four years to think about it.

There was a need to find out whether the branches generally supported the idea of welcoming new members into the profession.

Angela Alexander (Slough) was interested in the concept of a written pledge. Were the British too reserved to open up their hearts and say what they believed? If that were the case, would it be a signing ceremony at the branch meeting? Also, what happened if people refused to sign or speak the pledge?

The President said that perhaps the wording would be on a certificate that would be presented by the branch chairman. But there could be a spoken oath as well.

Stuart Eason (South Staffordshire) said that he had recently been to a couple of graduation ceremonies where the dean read out the modernised version of the Hippocratic oath and the graduates all stood and murmured their agreement at the same time. Was the President envisaging one person at a time, which would make it a long ceremony, or an en masse event?

The President said that many questions needed to be debated. It might be more acceptable for everyone to do it at the same time.

Michael Jepson (Birmingham) thought that the development was timely. It was a swing of the pendulum and reminded him of the way in which apprentices in all spheres once had to take an oath.

John Carr (South Staffordshire) said that his own registration as a pharmacist had been an enormous non-event. He thought there was a significant benefit from the proposal. There was a need to make registration a memorable event.

Mike Burden (Leicester) thought the idea was well worth exploring. However, some pharmacists would be unable to swear some words of allegiance. His own Quakerism prevented him swearing an oath, and he would need to find an affirmation process.

Steven Fox (Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan) said that, as a recently qualified pharmacist, he did not think that students would receive the proposal well. Newly registered pharmacists needed to concentrate on their jobs and would not want to take time away from that kind of concentration.

The President said that no one was stipulating a particular time. It might be something that had to be done within the first year of practice.

Answering a question, the President said that the certificate would be a piece of paper bearing the oath they had signed, not the registration certificate. But she did not have all the answers, and it might take some time to get things together.