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The last few editions of the Newsletter have contained articles reflecting on the general public's perception of the role of the pharmacist.
Is community pharmacy a profession or is it a retail occupation?
Consideration of this question appears to be causing much angst within pharmacy and tends to colour our thoughts on where to from now.
Fear not dear friends, we are not alone, perception plays a major part in many areas of health care.
How you deal with it is what counts.
A few days ago I attended a "Stay On Your Feet" expo here in Perth, as part of the Departments's involvement in the falls prevention programme.
One conversation between a DVA colleague and Veterans' Affairs client caught my attention. This veteran was talking about Hollywood Private Hospital, formerly the Repatriation General Hospital, sold by DVA to a private group some six years ago.
What attracted my attention was the comment by the veteran that "It was the best thing that DVA could have ever done".
The reasons for this comment were that "It doesn't look like a hospital when you walk into it", "The food is great" and "The nurses are all very friendly".
All strong, valid indicators of health care standards??
It is fair to say that the hospital delivers a high standard of care but what struck me was that operators of private hospitals appear to have a better understanding of how to shape their patients' perceptions than do we pharmacists.
The average patient has no idea of the standard of medical treatment they are receiving during an admission but they do remember the food, the décor and the behaviour of nursing staff.
Why do you think corporate medicine is so careful in promoting these images?
A few years ago a major Perth private hospital issued press releases to highlight that its head chef had been "poached" from a five star hotel to head up the catering department. If that's not a case of creating an image, I don't know what is.
The nursing profession is also very aware of the power it has in shaping patients' perceptions. Nurses now top the list of "most trusted professionals" despite their involvement in unprecedented industrial action over the past few years.
The reason, I guess, is that nurses are the most visible members of the health team.
My wife, an ex nurse, bemoans the fall in standard of the hands on care that used to be the corner stone of nursing. Nurses no longer appear willing to make the patient comfortable in bed, to ensure that patients eat their meals or even to bring them a bed pan-they are all too busy writing reports and watching monitors. Despite all this there remains the perception of the caring, guardian angel and patients still love them!
Compare this with the perception of pharmacists that seems to be rampant. Community pharmacists are, in many cases, working themselves into the ground for their clients, but the media tends to highlight stories portraying them as unprofessional money grubbers.
Where did we go wrong?
My thoughts are that the lack of cohesiveness in community pharmacy has much to do with this fall from grace.
I am unable to remember ever hearing of any dissent within the nursing hierarchy about the direction their profession is taking.
It appears that any dissension is kept "in house".
Compare this to the fragmented face pharmacy regularly presents - we don't even seem to be able to agree on standard charges for our services.
Is it any wonder that the public's perception of the two professions is becoming so skewed against pharmacy?
Proof of the old saying "united we stand, divided we fall" perhaps?
We need to work together to restore the image of the caring, professional who is always ready to help.
Just remember that, in the minds of many, perception is reality.
As a postscript to Neil's article on "corporate pharmacy" and amalgamations, in the last newsletter, I await with interest to see how the media might report on "branch closures" in pharmacy.
Similar closures have had a wonder impact on the public's perception of the big banks haven't they?

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