My opening lecture for the summer semester at Saint Francis University starts out with me introducing myself to the class of future pharmacists. Then, I open the classroom door and look up and down the hallway. I close the door, and the students look at me with an inquisitive stare. I tell them there is no one sitting in the hallway waiting to take their place and they have earned their seat in the classroom. I tell them for the next 11 months, their job is to work together as a team so they all can make it through this rigorous didactic curriculum. I give them my slogan for the year: “We are no longer competitors, we are colleagues.” It appears as a headline on page 1 of my Intro to Pharm notes. It also has made it to several of their class t-shirts.
We, as pharmacists, need to form a cohesive unit like so many other health professions do. We are often competitors, working for different chains and pulling business away from other pharmacies. I get frustrated when I call a competitor pharmacy for a patient transfer and get the 5-minute hold routine. When we call most doctors’ offices, there is an option to press a button if you are a health care facility, and you get immediate attention. Why can’t we pharmacists have the same options?
A former state representative summed it up well. He said, “Pete, when the lobbyists come to my office to speak on behalf of pharmacy, I never see a unified message. The independent pharmacists have 1 message; the chain pharmacists might have a different message, and hospital pharmacists might have another message! Your profession needs to unify like physicians, nurses, and physician assistants!”
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