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Letters to the Editor
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White Paper
A representative body for pharmacists alone
From Mr C. O. Agomo, MRPharmS
It was interesting to read the letter from Derek
Swanson (PJ, 7 July,
p18) in which he argued for the inclusion of technicians in the new professional
body for pharmacists. Mr Swanson based his argument on the fact that technicians
complement the roles of pharmacists and therefore forming a representative
body that excludes technicians will not work because it precludes the use
of knowledge and skills available in pharmacy. I completely disagree with
him.
The most unacceptable aspect of Mr Swanson’s letter was where he
mentioned an assumed rivalry that exists between physicians, surgeons and
GPs to argue for the inclusion of technicians in the representative body.
I
would like to clarify that all the three professional streams used in
his argument involve the basic bachelor of medicine degree (usually MBBS),
which takes a minimum of about seven years (including one year internship)
of full-time training to complete. This is then followed by another three
to six years (sometimes longer) of full-time training, depending on the
specialty and other factors, to become a consultant or a GP.
GP training
and practice is no longer considered inferior to consultant training.
In
the past five years or so GP training has become as competitive as the
other specialties in UK and, due to its flexibility and better remuneration
compared with consultant jobs, many consultants have retrained to become
GPs. Again, it is important to point out that although the GPs, surgeons
and physicians are all doctors, they all belong to different royal colleges,
with the uniting representative body being the British Medical Association
with membership open only to doctors and medical students.
Although I do appreciate the arguments of those who want to include technicians
in the college, despite the differences that exist, they forget that
pharmacy is not the only profession in this situation. I have looked
around and
found no reputable profession either here or in other parts of the world
that attained its status by inclusiveness in the way proposed by Mr Swanson
and others who argue for the inclusion of technicians in our representative
body. I implore Mr Swanson to show me just one profession.
The BTEC/NVQ qualification for technicians mentioned in Mr Swanson’s
letter will not even get a direct entry admission into many of the reputable
pharmacy schools around the world without the relevant “O”-
and “A”-level qualifications in basic science subjects. Again
I recognise the fact that many technicians may be graduates, but this does
not make them pharmacists. There is nothing wrong with capable technicians
retraining to become pharmacists as done regularly by nurses who train
to become doctors, or legal clerks and accounts clerks who become lawyers
and accountants, respectively.
It is important to make our profession distinct. Pharmacists must continue
to raise the standard of the profession with the changing times. Aiming
for a doctorate degree (as is done now in most pharmacy schools in the
US, some European countries, some Asian countries and a few universities
in Africa) as the entry point for the pharmacy profession must be our
next target if we are aiming to take up some of the services presently
provided
by GPs and nurses. The pharmacy profession must compete for recognition
and this calls for visionary leadership.
Giving technicians full membership of the new royal college will disadvantage
both pharmacists and technicians in the long run, lower standards for
pharmacists and diminish the identity technicians have been trying to
create over the
years.
The incredible achievement of nurses was not attained by them forcing
themselves into the medical and dental colleges but by believing in themselves
and
through patience, perseverance, setting goals and nurturing their own
representative body and identity.
I encourage pharmacy technicians to follow in the footsteps of nurses
and I am certain by doing that they cannot go wrong. Chijioke O. Agomo
London |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal