Meeting seeks revival of newsletters for special interest groups
A motion calling on the Society to support its members by reinstating funding for special interest group magazines was carried by the Society's branch representatives' meeting.
Proposing the motion, Andrew Hersom (Hull) said that three years ago
the Society stopped the production of the newsletters of the Industrial
Pharmacists Group and the Veterinary Pharmacist Group. Through sponsorship
from committee members’ companies, the IPG had managed to support
a newsletter until this year. However, the Society would not let the
committee negotiate with the contract editor/publisher and the contract
was now finished. Industrial pharmacists who wanted a newsletter would
have to personally subscribe to a commercial journal for about £48
a year.
Most pharmacists in industry did not need to be registered with the Society
and therefore were really committed to the profession to retain their
membership. Unfortunately, the Society demonstrated a singular lack of
commitment in return.
Brian Wells (Hull), seconding, said that the Society should celebrate
diversity in the profession and remember that not all pharmacists worked
in the community. There were about 2,400 industrial pharmacists, but
what did the Society do for them? Their magazine had been one of the
things they looked forward to, and the continued receipt of such publications
by industrial and veterinary pharmacists would demonstrate the diversity
of the profession and the Society would develop strength from that.
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