The Conscience of a Pharmacist

At a point in an individual's journey as a pharmacist, one becomes aware of the immense gap between the potential and the actual performance of pharmacy as a health profession. For some pharmacists, this is a fleeting cognizance with a significance so troubling that it is denied and buried forever. Other common reactions include resignation, frustration, cynicism, and escape. The most constructive response is dedication to reform of the profession, in whatever sphere of influence a pharmacist has. A spirit of reform shaped the essays in this book, which were first published as editorials in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy(AJHP). The editorials selected for this book-half of them written in 1990s, the rest earlier-are still relevant to the state of pharmacy today. In some cases, the essays offer historical perspective on particular choices the profession has made, such as the adoption of Pharm.D. degree education as the minimum for all new practitioners. The hope is that this book will attract and arouse new readers-the practitioners, educators, residents, and students who have not been exposed to the pharmacy literature of the past twenty years-and incite them to make pharmacy a better profession.