Why have you chosen pharmacy?? What is your aim??
This was the first question asked by my teacher in the first
day of my B. Pharm. I was not aware about the actual purpose of the study but I
somehow gathered my thoughts and explained that I have chosen the pharmacy field
to discover new molecule that could cure deadly diseases like AIDS. The teacher
just smiled and allowed me to sit. There was certain sarcasm in his smile. I felt embarrassed with my answer. The field was actually vast than what I had imagined.
How could I know about Pharmacy in detail??? I was neither a
diploma student nor I had read about different aspects of Pharmacy at that naïve
period of my study. The only thing I knew was the definition of Pharmacy which I
had mugged up through internet. Such was the situation. But time teaches us
everything. I got used to new pharmacy world and managed to cope with immense
structures of drug molecules. I started loving chemistry and other subjects
seemed familiar. Harsh environment and
language barrier was shadowed by the love of classmates and teachers. Everything
was easy then.
“Once you start anything finish it “was my theory. I think I was
able to live with my words. Four year in a foreign land was difficult obviously
but it was the life changing phase of my life. Nothing is impossible once you
have a will to do it.
Now I stand as a registered pharmacist with more than a year
of work experience. But I still don’t know how I feel about my profession. When
people talk about the Health related field, they only talk about Medical,
Dental, Nursing, HA, Public Health etc. Sadly, pharmacy field is often
neglected. People still call me doctor when I visit my village. This is quite embarrassing.
The thoughts of people has been negative since very beginning. We all are
equally guilty for this. We are the one who are failing to change people’s
attitude towards our profession. Why can’t we make people aware about our
valuable contribution in saving life of the patients? Why can’t we say we are
researchers, psychologists, industrialists, scientists, professors etc.?? Why can’t we explain them about the scope of
our fields like market research, pharmacovigilance, herbal medicine etc.?? Who will explain them better than us that
Pharmacy is the bridging profession between Doctors and patients? Why can’t we
say we are the one to discover new medicine and prepare them into dosage forms
that a doctor prescribes? This has to be done now if we want our profession to
have some dignity.
People sitting in higher posts seemed to have lost their way.
They are unable to implement the regulations properly. They are either
corrupted or are encircled by stronger people. How can a country with rule of
law condemn the Supreme Court by not implementing its decision? The condition
is pathetic where the rule and laws are only for weak. This has to change.
I feel the encroachment of people from other profession has
played a part in mudding our field. Reality is our child can be taken care of
properly only by us. It would be foolish of us to expect other to do so. We have
been fighting for the proper identity of our profession. Time has come to be
united so that we can uproot any impurities that is harming our profession. Unless
we don’t unite it is hard to get what we want.
By: Bijay Koirala
Tags:
Pharmacist voice