When are pharmacists going to get the respect they deserve?

[McPharmd]

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When are pharmacists going to get the respect they deserve? And will it be better in the future? I want to know because I am about to devote a lot of time and money into this profession.

I want to become a pharmacist because I love drugs. I am interested in how drugs work and affect your body. I am fascinated on how something so little can have such an enormous effect on the patient. I want to become the know it all person that people can rely when they have any drug-related questions.

I just want to know when will pharmacist get the respect they deserve!? I know that I should do what I love and not care what the public think but I do!! It means a lot in the health profession. There is no point in giving good advice if people are undermining everything that you suggest. Doctors and nurses second guess you. Even patients do.. Do you guys think it will get any better?

I think that it will not be fixed by itself. I think there needs to be major changes in the field. I think the first thing we need to do is make pharmacy school way more competitive. What is with the low gpa and low pcat still making it into pharmacy school? I think there needs to be a higher standard. The second thing I think we need to do is that we need to limit the pharmacy schools there is out there. There needs to be a set amount of pharmacist allowed to graduate every year. This will make the field more way more prestigious. The third thing I think we need to do is that we need to all jump on the clincal train even though we will be making less than people going into retail. We need to show the public and our peers (docs/nurses/etc) that with our knowledge we can make a significant difference in patient care.

I think this is what we need to do to repair the image that pharmacists have now. If it keeps going on like it is now, the future does not look too great...

What do you guys think?

 

[tungsten87]

when are people going to stop making threads pertaining to this topic?

There needs to be a set amount of pharmacist allowed to graduate every year. This will make the field more way more prestigious.

why do you care about prestige so much? sounds like you are approaching pharmacy for all the wrong reasons.

 

[McPharmd]

why do you care about prestige so much? sounds like you are approaching pharmacy for all the wrong reasons.

I don't care. I am not in it for the prestige. Just saying more prestige gets more respect.

 

[PharmacyNut]

I, for one, think that's a fair perspective. I agree that pharmacy school admissions should toughen up a little and go for students with the best resumes. We need all the bright minds we can recruit to raise awareness about the pharmacy profession. I know that the only drawback of doing this will attach the "prestige" label to pharmacy. However, the pharmacist is a critical component for taking care of patients. I think pharmacy is making strides to become more involved in a patient's life. A great example of the evolution of pharmacy is Clinical Pharmacy. That'll most likely replace retail in the long-run (in what I've observed and read in literature). All that matters is that we're moving towards recognition and the PharmD transition is a big step. It's still a young movement, although the profession of pharmacy is thousands of years old. It's just a matter of time before patients realize pharmacists are more qualified to deal with patient issues than once before.

Anyway, Someone made a thread just recently in the Pharmacy subforum. There's some great posts in there.

Check it out here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=8977908#post8977908

However, when you are a pharmacist, you shouldn't care about what people think...as long as you do your job and love your job, that'll keep you satisfied.

Edit: On a related note, my dad is an engineer and my two siblings are engineers. They all complain about the lack of credit given to engineers for help in designing medical equipment, etc. Physicians are given all the credit for "saving lives," which in actuality isn't always the truth, although I totally respect their approach to diagnosis and treatment...but very little credit is given to those who make a silent contribution. It's those who deliver the services that get the most credit. And I think pharmacy is in a position where we can give people something...the confusion is really what do we do for them?? that's what needs to be addressed, I think...infomercial anyone? lol

 

[WhiteSnows]

You can only earn respect from people when you are respecting them, be kindness, supportive, and forgiving. It does not matter what profession you are into (MD, Pharm.D, Nursing,...), people in general do not have automatic respect to you unless you are first showing them that you are their friend, you are here to help them, and treating them not inferiorly, but kindness and diplomacy.

 

[silvervln]

I just want to know when will pharmacist get the respect they deserve!? I know that I should do what I love and not care what the public think but I do!! It means a lot in the health profession. There is no point in giving good advice if people are undermining everything that you suggest. Doctors and nurses second guess you. Even patients do.. Do you guys think it will get any better?

You'll always have these types of people no matter what profession you're in.

 

[SHC1984]

When there are only 50 pharmacy schools in the USA. The more pharmacists graduating each year and the easier it is to get into pharmacy school the less respect.

Oh and making it a requirement to make an appointment to talk to the pharmacist. No one respects retail pharmacists because ANYONE can just yell/scream/cuss out the pharmacist anytime they feel like it. Pharmacists/pharmacy services should NOT be opened to the public...it makes the overall value of the profession go down the drain. 🙄 Retail pharmacists need to charge $50 dollars for every question they answer. If MD can do it, why can't we? Thats the only way to get respect around here! 👍

 

[NaOH]

What is with the low gpa and low pcat still making it into pharmacy school?

God bless the free market! YEEEE-haw!

 

[joh0472]

Pharmacist will get respect when they deserve it. My experience the old school pharmacist were weirdos that knew how drugs interacted with humans but couldn't communicate or understand concepts like sarcasm or other forms of humor. I think the fact that there is a push for pharmacist to be more approachable and better communicators will help remove the stigma that pharmacists are just drones for the Doctors.

 

[Carboxide]

If there's ever been an argument for pharmacists referring to themselves as Dr. _____, here it is.

You'd never see an optometrist say "Hey there, my name is Adam!" They'd say, "Hey there, my name is Dr. Smith!"

I believe that if we were to refer to ourselves in that way, it would increase the public's overall perception of a pharmacist. In turn, it would then make new health care professionals out of school come into the business with a solid perception of pharmacists as an integral part of the health care team.

 

[Filler]

hmmmm maybe when the APhA decides to actually grow a pair and do something, such as lobbying for the profession's autonomy...

 

[yappy]

I dont think the problem has to do with the number of pharmacists. There are WAY more doctors and nurses than there are pharmacists, yet the public tends to trust/respect both of them more. Maybe people just dont respect a pharmacists job duties? who cares.

 

[pharm B]

I'm pretty sure the amount of respect you receive depends heavily upon your individual efforts. I respect a good mechanic more than I respect a crappy doctor.

 

[NaOH]

Also: we are the gas station attendants of the medical world.

Glory and honor isn't part of the job description.

 

[glory4england]

I believe pharmacists are getting the respect, or at least gaining, probably not from old doctors, but newer doctors and nurses, who during medical school or residencies worked with pharmacy residents or P4 on rotations and know what pharmacists can do, remember that this whole pharmacists doing rounds is still pretty new. We just got to keeping on working at it. We can earn more respect by doing our job than telling people to call us doctor...

There's also nothing wrong with being a retail pharmacist, there are not enough residency positions for all 13k new graduates and there are those who comes out with 150k in debt and cannot work for 35k a year for two years. And someone got to do the dirty work 🙂

It also depend on who you are, respect are gained working, not by attaching a pharm d or md to your name.

side note though, what the public thinks of you should be important because they are your customers and you're working for them =D

another side note, http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=685189 apparently we're the 2nd most respected profession in the US.

 

[desklamp]

hmmmm maybe when the APhA decides to actually grow a pair and do something, such as lobbying for the profession's autonomy...

^ this

i think a lot of people get the idea that pharmacists just work at CVS and put pills in a bottle based on a doctor's prescription. the way the profession is progressing, with a doctorate being the highest level of education required, and clinical pharmacists being able to prescribe based on a general protocol, i think there's definitely a lot of room for growth in the field, particularly since the range of medications available will only see growth as time goes on.

at least i hope so...haha. i want to see partnerships between doctors and pharmacists in finding the best regimen for patients.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

i believe pharmacists are getting the respect, or at least gaining, probably not from old doctors, but newer doctors and nurses, who during medical school or residencies worked with pharmacy residents or p4 on rotations and know what pharmacists can do, remember that this whole pharmacists doing rounds is still pretty new. We just got to keeping on working at it. We can earn more respect by doing our job than telling people to call us doctor...

there's also nothing wrong with being a retail pharmacist, there are not enough residency positions for all 13k new graduates and there are those who comes out with 150k in debt and cannot work for 35k a year for two years. And someone got to do the dirty work 🙂

it also depend on who you are, respect are gained working, not by attaching a pharm d or md to your name.

Side note though, what the public thinks of you should be important because they are your customers and you're working for them =d

another side note, http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=685189 apparently we're the 2nd most respected profession in the us.

+1

 

[MrMeowphers]

Pharmacist's do get the respect they deserve...

It really depends on the CULTURE of the country in question.

For example, in South East Asia, pharmacist's are the HIGHEST in terms of respect/admiration, followed by school teachers/government officials, then physicians, so forth. The reason is because you don't need a prescription to get your medication, you go to the pharmacist with your issues, they diagnose you, and then you get your med's from them (see any problems here? TONS!)

In Germany, the title "Dr." is reserved specifically for those individuals who have obtained a PhD, whereas M.D's are referred to as physicians.

Also, I agree with many of the poster's above; if you do a profession only because you want admiration and praise from the public, then you're never going to be happy. True happiness is simply being content with what you're doing. I love research (and the only researchers that get praise are those that do something really great that helps man-kind directly; those that usually discover small new novel protein functions normally get noticed only by members in their same field). However, I would also like to communicate and help the public on a much more regular basis, hence my interest in Pharmacy.😍

 

[atticus27]

I'm pretty sure the amount of respect you receive depends heavily upon your individual efforts. I respect a good mechanic more than I respect a crappy doctor.

Agree.👍

In pharmacy school all you hear about is how self conscious pharmacists are about the profession and how they think they get no respect. Man up for God's sake.

For those of you dogging retail. It is an invaluable practice that as been around forever. Next time you or your loved ones are sick and need a script filled-where are you going to go? The problem isn't retail, it's your 'boo-hoo I'm not a medical doctor' low self esteem. It reminds me of those who walk through life never thinking they are good enough and it's just as sad if you feel the same way about your profession.

 

[IrishHammer]

Agree.👍

In pharmacy school all you hear about is how self conscious pharmacists are about the profession and how they think they get no respect. Man up for God's sake.

For those of you dogging retail. It is an invaluable practice that as been around forever. Next time you or your loved ones are sick and need a script filled-where are you going to go? The problem isn't retail, it's your 'boo-hoo I'm not a medical doctor' low self esteem. It reminds me of those who walk through life never thinking they are good enough and it's just as sad if you feel the same way about your profession.

Most of the people who dog retail aren't hating on the theory behind it though. They're bashing what corporations have done to said theory. Retail is supposed to be about helping patients understand how to take their medications and clearing up any confusions so the person taking the medication can get better as soon as possible. Corporations, however, see the retail pharmacist as a funny man in a white coat whose job is to fill as many bottle as possible with as many pills as possible in as little time as possible with as little help as possible while making as much money possible.

To the OP-Respect in any field is often earned on an individual basis. Do your job, be empathetic towards your patients, do everything in your power to help them, and they'll respect you. Unless they're ****head welfare moms. But then who cares what they think because they're ******.