Attempts at professionalization of pharmacy: An Israel case study

Abstract

The status ambiguity of pharmacy as a profession poses dilemmas of role definition for recruits to that occupation. The research reported on discusses attempts by students of pharmacy to develop coping mechanisms during socialization that resolve certain of these dilemmas. Recognition of the existence of such ambiguity is seen in a general growth in cynicism among students undergoing socialization for pharmacy which is expressed in a consistent reduction over time in expectations for rewards from future practice. The drop is especially marked in expectations of intellectual interest from practice. Even though students enter pharmacy school with higher expectations in some areas than those of the teaching staff, by the end of their internship, they anticipate less rewards from pharmacy than do their teachers. Evidence is presented to indicate that the growing preference of students for careers in industry and research represents a mechanism by means of which recruits to pharmacy attempt to cope with and avoid the dilemmas of professional status of this occupation. Industrial pharmacy is the most professionalized of the sub-careers in pharmacy and suffers little from the problems of autonomy and service orientation that plague the pharmacist in other practice settings.