Professional identity in pharmacy: Opportunity, crisis or just another day at work?

Kellar, Jamie; Lake, Jennifer; Steenhof, Naomi; Austin, Zubin

doi:10.1177/1715163520913902

Cited by 28 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This poses the question of how we address this tug-ofwar between the evolution of modern pharmacy practice into more patient care roles with pharmacists' long-held identity as "legal drug dealers?" [1][2][3]6,12 Why is it so difficult to alter the way that pharmacists and pharmacy organizations promote the profession to the world? Do they not believe in the modern scopes of practice for pharmacists?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anything beyond making sure that the right pills go in the right bottles with the right labels disturbs the current public perception that pharmacists’ roles are strictly drug distribution-related, which is incongruent with pharmacists’ actual roles, knowledge and skills. This poses the question of how we address this tug-of-war between the evolution of modern pharmacy practice into more patient care roles with pharmacists’ long-held identity as “legal drug dealers?” 1 - 3 ,6,12…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent research suggests that pharmacists have a professional identity crisis, which likely leads to confusion in their public perception. 1 , 2 Gregory and Austin 1 stated, “Without our own clear understanding of who we [pharmacists] are as a profession, our self-identity, is it any wonder that patients, physicians and other health professionals don’t really know what to make of us and our claims to be medication experts?” Kellar et al 3 recommended that the pharmacy profession should have a universal professional identity of pharmacists as health care practitioners that they project to the public, governments and other health care professionals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Twitter analysis of World Pharmacists Day 2020 images: Sending the wrong messages

2021

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Background: Pharmacists are often depicted as dispensers of medication as opposed to health professionals who provide patient care. Our objective was to identify how pharmacists’ roles were portrayed in images on Twitter for World Pharmacists Day (WPD) 2020. Methods: A qualitative content analysis was undertaken to evaluate the images of pharmacists on WPD. Tweets were included that had a photo or image, used 1 of 5 WPD hashtags and were posted between September 24 and 26, 2020. Thematic analysis was performed independently by 2 investigators. Tweets were categorized into 5 groups: 1) drug distribution roles, 2) patient care roles, 3) no described roles, 4) not professional/unprofessional roles and 5) not relevant. Subgroup analysis was performed for the users who posted the tweets. Results: Of the 970 tweets analyzed, only 11% of the overall tweets portrayed the patient care roles of pharmacists, whereas 51% portrayed drug distribution roles and 29% did not describe any particular roles of pharmacists. These proportions were similar between subgroups of tweeters. Discussion: WPD is intended to promote and advocate for the pharmacy profession. The results of our study show poor messaging of pharmacists’ roles and reflect a missed opportunity to showcase the full scope of pharmacy practice. Conclusion: Based on the images tweeted on WPD 2020, the diversity of pharmacists’ practice as skilled health care practitioners was lost in a sea of tweets portraying pharmacists’ roles in drug distribution. We hope that pharmacists and pharmacy organizations will awaken to this self-induced problem for WPD 2021. Can Pharm J (Ott) 2021;154(5):xx-xx.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Twitter analysis of World Pharmacists Day 2020 images: Sending the wrong messages

2021

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“…Furthermore, education satisfaction is important for the ability to adopt a professional identity [ 4 ]. Building a common professional identity is complicated by the uncertainty and transformation of the professional role of pharmacists and the role of pharmacies in health care, resulting in an undefined professional identity both in Sweden and internationally [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Students’ wellbeing may also influence academic satisfaction [ 8 ] and educational factors such as workload, learning environment, and meaningfulness of educational activities may in turn affect wellbeing [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Education Satisfaction among Pharmacy Graduates in Sweden

2021

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Education satisfaction is considered important for development of a professional identity and to increase learning. The aim was to investigate and compare education satisfaction over time among pharmacists who have graduated from the pharmacy programs at Umeå University, Sweden. Data concerning education satisfaction were collected using an alumni survey of pharmacists who graduated between 2015 and 2018. This was compared with pharmacists graduating between 2006 and 2014. The majority of the pharmacy graduates were very satisfied with their education (96%) and thought that the programs gave them a clear professional identity (92%). No differences in education satisfaction between graduation years 2015 and 2018 and 2006 and 2014 were found. A majority of the graduates considered that the knowledge and skills acquired during their education were useful in their present job (83%). Of the graduates who thought that the studies gave them a clear professional identity, a higher proportion were satisfied with their job (p < 0.001) and thought that their work duties reflected their studies (p = 0.005). Exploring education satisfaction may help educators to further develop the education and to better prepare the students for their professional working life.

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“…8 This has raised questions as to the professional identity of the pharmacist. 9 A recent discourse analysis of pharmacist identity revealed five identities that have emerged over time including "apothecary," "dispenser," "merchandiser," "expert advisor," and "healthcare provider." Kellar and colleagues note that these individual discourses "piled up" rather than progressively or clearly shifting over time.…”

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confidence: 99%

The pharmacist's professional identity: Preventing, identifying, and managing medication therapy problems as the medication specialist

Nelson

Armistead

Blanchard

et al. 2021

J Am Coll Clin Pharm

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Pharmacy has long struggled to embrace a unified professional identity despite many leaders calling for such. With societal and scientific evolutions, the functions of the pharmacist have changed over time, often assuming multiple identity discourses.Pharmacy has also been seen as a very heterogeneous profession with product-and patient-focused practitioners, contributing to the lack of a unifying identity. This commentary argues that to advocate for and promote our profession we must confront the brutal facts and realize the true state of pharmacy practice. The fact is that all areas of pharmacy practice, both product-and patient-focused, have always shared a central theme which is and has been the pharmacist's professional identity: the prevention, identification, and management of medication therapy problems and their root causes as the medication specialist. Fully embracing this professional identity will help the profession assume a clear and unique role on the healthcare team in optimizing patient care and allow for meaningful practice-based research, grounded in theory, which will improve the education of currently practicing and future pharmacists. A firm professional identity will also allow for a seamless continuation between pharmacist education and practice across a lifetime, strengthening the pharmacy profession as a whole.

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Professional identity in pharmacy: Opportunity, crisis or just another day at work?

Cited by 28 publications

References 17 publications

A Twitter analysis of World Pharmacists Day 2020 images: Sending the wrong messages

A Twitter analysis of World Pharmacists Day 2020 images: Sending the wrong messages

Education Satisfaction among Pharmacy Graduates in Sweden

The pharmacist's professional identity: Preventing, identifying, and managing medication therapy problems as the medication specialist

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