While pharmacists may still be looking for self actualization, some bad apples are ruining the image through questionable practices (e.g. drug diversion), leading to drug abuse crisis. I am interested if you or your colleagues have studies something like "The role of pharmaceutical industry in drug abuse crises?

These links are relative to your topic

http://www.ajpcrjournal.com/article/SELF-ACTUALIZATION%20OF%20PHARMACY%20IN%20ERITREA.pdf

http://www.bpsa.co.uk/what-could-the-role-of-the-pharmacist-be-in-the-future

http://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/directions-in-pharmacy/2014/december2014/the-future-of-pharmacy

http://www.pharmacytimes.com/conferences/ashp-summer-2017/what-role-do-pharmacists-have-in-the-future-of-health-care

http://medicalfuturist.com/the-bright-future-of-pharmacies/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4275149/

http://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/issue/2016/february2016/future-trends-affecting-pharmacy-practice

http://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/issue/2010/september2010/ngp_future_of_pharmacy-0910

You can check these publications

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1592/phco.20.11.991.35270/pdf

http://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/careers-and-jobs/career-feature/pharmacy-in-the-next-ten-years/10004477.article

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Hello Nadir,

Your question is extremely pertinent and meaningful, from my humble perspective. Even though the profession of pharmacy accepted pharmaceutical care as its purpose, or mission, in the 90's, it seems that its members did not understand what that practice really is and how that can be actualised in the real world for the benefit of patients. Pharmacists keep changing their activities according to the mood of the moment or of the marketplace. In 2017 the profession as a whole still does not have clarity about its purpose in the health care system and its role as a health care provider. When the profession reachs this understanding, or an acceptance of its place in direct patient care, we will have colleges of pharmacy teaching to that, pharmacists practicing to that everywhere, results emerging from that, and, finally, we will reach a socially-desirable self-actualisation. At that moment, we will be able to fill a real gap in the health care system as we will be able to respond legally, ethically and scientifically for what we do to patients. 

 Thank you Dejenane..great response.We seem to share the same concern. Having been involved in academia for a while now and having introduced PC concepts to undergrad students for years;  I must say I am starting to feel uncomfortable about our practice from a global perspective. We should discuss more. Thank you again DJ!

Nad

Hello, Dr. Nadir, 

Thank you for raising such a good question. I do agree with Dr. Dejenane response, Can't agree more on the description of the current scenario in her answer. I am sharing the same concern that despite the various teaching and preparation of young pharmacists in academia to take part in the patient care process, and many other roles as well. I do believe that still clear (white/black) description of pharmacist role is developing, Recent years advances in pharmacist participation in many activities i.e. independent prescribing may indicate the ongoing attempt to take part and acquire self-actualization. I think this point constitutes a major challenge that needs to be investigated further by pharmacy and healthcare stakeholders from a global perspective. Maybe we can work further in collaboration towards investigating this issue from several countries 

Best,

Thank you Djenane, Mohamed Hassan Elnaem, Mohamed Al Hammad, and Gulzar Shah for your responses to my discussion question about pharmacy and pharmacists. I think we all agree that pharmacy, as a profession, is still in a state of evolution. The issue is complex, and what adds to that complexity is the diversity of practice in different geographical locations as a result of what is allowed, the respective regulations, and the status of academia, to mention a few. Several stakeholders have impact. Pharmacy practice in any given country reflects the reality of the respective country, although what we are seeing now are attempts to have a more cohesive platform; foundational issues that all professionals should agree upon. However, pharmacists seem to be in a state of ‘liminality’; as space and/or time of transformation from an earlier understanding to a new, required state ( Meyer and land 2005, 2006). Whether they succeed in that transformation depends in part on how empowered the profession is, and how integrated it is with stakeholders.

Nadir, you touched on something that I believe it's fundamental to this discussion. If we look around us, or to every other healthcare professional, they have a clear role and a specific problem they claim to resolve better than anyone else. As you mentioned, pharmacy needs a "cohesive platform". In other words, we need one professional practice behind what all of us do everywhere in the world. We cannot have one practice of pharmacy for each country or for each physical space we are at. This is not acceptable in any other profession. We need to clearly and easily answer the following questions: What are our main responsibility in the health care system? What problems can we solve better than anyone else?

Dearest,

This is an excellent question, with wich I have been struggling for some time now. I honestly do not know. I hope that patient directed (or bed-side) clinical pharmacy becomes an ever increasing part of the job, but I am afraid it won't.

As a hospital pharmacist, approximately 50% of my time is invested in improving pharmacotherapy in geriatric inpatients in a large teaching hospital. I do believe that this a good use of my time (and probably even cost-effective to cost-dominant). Many of services are based on our own findings and honestly, we are still being influenced (better: motivated) by two rather recent papers (Koshman et al, Arch Intern Med 2008; Gillespie et al, Arch Intern Med 2009). The recent work of Pellegrin et al (J Am Geriatr Soc 2017) also deserves some merit.

And it will go on, until it doesn't. We are dependent on the explicit approval of the hospital board. And these times, funds are limited. Regardless the increasing body of evidence (also see the intersting RCTs coming out of the Ontario region now, e.g. RxAction trial) I have the suspicion that many third party payers and hospal boards alike still view this as an unproven novelty. Novelties are easily discarded.

I suppose the above is exactly the reason why my PhD main subject is what it is.

Kindest regards