Pharmacists Becoming Physicians: For Better or Worse?

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.

Clinical Pharmacy in Psychiatry: Towards Promoting Clinical Expertise in Psychopharmacology

“…In several countries, and in particular non-English-speaking countries, such as France, the pharmacist is often more of a quality manager than a true clinical pharmacist. To overcome this "identity crisis" it is undoubtedly necessary to question the visions that pharmacists have of their own aptitudes and wishes in relation to what clinical practice is [3,82,83]. This perspective also places them in front of a potential socio-professional transformation leading them to transition to a conception of care closer to that of physicians [82,83].…”

Enhancing the role played by clinical pharmacists in psychiatric settings to better integrate clinical psychopharmacology into the decision-making process

“…Furthermore, these programs also tend to show that the partnership approach between pharmacists and psychiatrists is not automatic and requires a degree of intentionality to be effective. For instance, while some studies present the benefits of pharmacist-psychiatrist collaboration in terms of the quality of psychotropic drug prescriptions, other research data point to the well-known conflictual relations between the two professions [9,10,23]. The American Medical Association (AMA) considers that when pharmacists ask for information about the validity of prescriptions before dispensation, they "are interfering with the practice of medicine" [10].…”

The case for independent pharmacist prescribing

“…Frankly, there is no “us.” He is entitled to his opinion, but he is not a practising pharmacist and does not represent us. Interestingly, the respondents to Yeung’s qualitative study of 2 pharmacists-turned-physicians stated that “the limitations of pharmacists’ scope of practice [were the] main reasons to pursue a medical career,” 6 yet he has become a vocal critic of an expanded scope of pharmacy practice. 5,7 We remain open to engaging in constructive dialogue regarding the advancement of pharmacists’ scope of practice in the interest of patient care.…”