Abstract
Physicians and pharmacists nowadays are often described as adversaries rather than members of the same team. Some pharmacists apply to medical school later in their careers, and experience obstacles during the transition process. This article details interviews with two physician–pharmacists, who each have a past pharmacist license and current physician license. The respondents described the limitations of pharmacists’ scope of practice as their main reasons to pursue a medical career. However, the respondents enjoy applying their pharmacy knowledge and experience to improve their medical practice. They do not feel pharmacy seniors and medical recruiters are supportive towards their chase for medical careers. The respondents noted the importance of peer-reviewed articles to promote pharmacist involvement in patient care and collaboration between physicians and pharmacists. Conflicts between physicians and pharmacists tend to happen because of their different focuses on patient care. The respondents do not see themselves having an edge over other medical school applicants, and noted that recruiters could negatively view their pharmacy experience. The respondents believe that physician–pharmacists are catalysts to foster collaboration between physicians and pharmacists, because they clearly understand the role of each profession. Nevertheless, the respondents feel that physicians and pharmacists are generally lukewarm towards pharmacists transitioning into physicians.
Highlights
IntroductionOne might expect pharmacy to inherit the cultural norms from medicine
Prior to the Edict of Frederich II, which officially created the profession of pharmacy from medicine in the Western World, the roles of “prescriber” and “dispenser” were virtually identical [1].One might expect pharmacy to inherit the cultural norms from medicine
Some pharmacists apply to medical school later in their careers, and experience “culture shocks” during the process of becoming physicians [1]
Summary
One might expect pharmacy to inherit the cultural norms from medicine. Physicians and pharmacists nowadays are often described as “adversaries rather than members of the same team” [2]. Some pharmacists apply to medical school later in their careers, and experience “culture shocks” during the process of becoming physicians [1]. The culture of “physician–pharmacists” (professionals with past pharmacist licenses and current physician licenses) is unique [1], but peer-reviewed literature in this area is very limited. The lack of literature could be due to pharmacists recognizing the adversarial relationship between pharmacy and medicine, and being secretive about their intention to pursue medical careers. The pharmacy director of Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada, questioned whether pharmacists are “MD wannabees” for performing physical assessment [3]
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