Professionalism in Pharmacy

Abstract

Professionalism. Have you heard that word lately? Pharmacists are greatly concerned about professionalism among pharmacy students and peers. Many in the forefront of the profession are searching for ways to “reprofessionalize” pharmacy or to enable pharmacists to better function as the professionals they are trained to be. The 2003 APhA House of Delegates debated and passed several new policy items that address specific concerns of the pharmacy community, and each of these has a direct impact on professionalism. Learning Professionalism From a Distance How did you learn to be a professional? Was it through face-to-face interaction with faculty, daily contact with practitioners at work, modeling by pharmacist preceptors, or involvement with the activities of the APhA Academy of Students of Pharmacy (APhA –ASP)? Who can say definitely what educational process is optimal for producing high quality professionals? Providing education on professionalism is not solely the responsibility of the academic community or the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE). Every pharmacist is a stakeholder in the future of pharmacy, and, in large part, the shape the future takes will depend on what pharmacy students learn during their education. The APhA House expressed this sentiment clearly in passing a policy item related to distance education. Although practitioners have often participated in continuing education programming or other types of postgraduation distance education, few have had experience with undergraduate programs that are entirely or extensively delivered from a distance. Some people do not understand how the programs are intended to work, and being