- Email: [email protected]
The professional role
Although various socio-economic fac~ tors may be influential in deter-
mining the size of community in which a pharmacist locates to practice his profession, how does he view his role as a pharmacist? Having spent frve or more years in a college or university preparing for his professional career, does he feel that his selection of location provides him with greater professional satisfactions than do alternative locations? \Vith these questions in mind, an exploratory study was designed to inquire into the opinions of pharmacists. The study was specifically directed toward pharmacists located in small communities. I The concern was how pharmacists in small communities viewed their professional roles . The study included other considerations, such as opinions regarding the experience requirements for the supervision of non -professional personnel, but the objective of one phase- the pharmacists' roles as consultants- was to inquire into the "opinions " of pharmacists in small communities when they compared their professional consultants' roles with that which they felt existed in large communities. The opmlOns were directed toward their relative feelings as (1) health consultants to the residents of the community and (:2) drug consultants to physicians. The opinions mayor may not be correct in a factual sense; however , the individual experiences satisfactions (or dissatisfactions) and makes decisions based on what he beliez'es is correct and not on the basis of what, in fact , may be true. This position can be demonstrated by the situation in which some persons are of the opinion that the price of drugs is too high regardless of evidence to the contrary. John M . Firestone refers to his index and notes that " the pharmaceutical index cannot convince anyone that prescriptions are a bargain , if he already believes they are too high." 2 Although opinions vary in intensity , no attempt was made to measure the strength of opinions. The survey was an estimate of what proportion of respondents subscribe to a given opinion.
methodology A list of cities in California with a population of 10,000 persons or less was taken from the California Statistical
.·lbstract. 3 The pharmacies located in these cities then were culled from the directory of registered pharmacies distributed by the California State Board of Pharmacy. 4 U si ng these cri teria , the researchers determined the particular group under consideration to be comprised of pharmacists in :380 pharmacies. Time and financial considerations made it necessary to use a mail questionnaire. To avoid contacting the specified group, the questionnaire was pretested in cities with populations above 10,000 but less than 15 ,000 persons (appropriate changes in wording were made to fit the communities used for pretesting). A questionnaire addressed to the registered pharmacist owner and/ or manager was sent to all the pharmacies located in communities of 10,000 persons or less. Two were returned because the pharmacies were no longer in existence. The researchers received 185 responses . Of this number, seven were discarded , leaving 178 usable questionnaires giving a return of -+7.1 percent . If!
.,
•
•
•
lao
•
•
.,
•
•
..
limitations No single question can adequately sample an opinion which is usually multi-dimensional. Also, the intensity of feeling will yary from person to person. The researchers confined themselves to one aspect only of the professional role- the pharmacist's relative yiewpoint regarding his role as a consultant to the residents of his community and his role as a consultant to the physician . Two basic problems exist when using mailed questionnaires. There is the possibility that non-respondents differ from those who do respond and the returns may not reflect a cross section of those con tacted. The study was limited to pharmacies in small communities in California and may not be projected to other geographical areas with statistical certainty. Some of the responses may be based upon limited experiences rather than opinions. This factor would tend to influence responses .
..... . ... .... . . . .
Charles Whittenberg, chief pharmacist at Dameron Hospital in Stockton , California, is a relative newcomer to the practice of pharmacy. After receiving his BSc degree in pharmacy from the University of the Pacific just last year he became a candidate for the doctor of pharmacy degree from the university school of pharmacy. Among his association activities he includes membership in APhA and Phi Delta Chi fraternity.
Max Polinsky is assistant professor of pharmacy administration at the University of the Pacific school of pharmacy. He entered pharmacy from Idaho State College where he received his BSc degree in 1953. Now with an MBA degree from the University of Wisconsin behind him he is working on a PhD degree from the same university. The APhA member includes among his activities, memberships in American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education, Rho Chi and Phi Delta Chi.
Vol. NS3, No. 10, October 1963
517
table 1 In your opiniOn, how often do you feel that people in smaller communities consult with the pharmacist regarding health matters as compared to people in larger communities?
more often in smaller communities
about the same in both
~f
percent
149
83.7
no. I 26
less often in smaller communities
percent
no.
14.6
0
fper:ent
no opinion
total
no.
fpercent
no.
fpercent
3
1.7
178
100.0
table 2 In your opinion, how often do you feel that physicians in smaller communities consult with the pharmacist about drugs as compared to physicians in larger communities?
more often in smaller communities
about the same in both
no.
percent
no.
51.1
60
less often in smaller communities
no opinion
total
-----
I
91
-I!erc~nt ~Ipercent _~I percent _~Ipercent 33.7
16
9.0
11
6.2
178
100.0
table 3 In your opinion, how active a part in civic affairs do you feel the smaller-com· munity pharmacist takes as compared to the pharmacist in the larger community?
more active in smaller communities
about the same in both
less active in smaller communities
no opinion
--
~I
percent
164
~2.1
no. I 11
percent 6.2
no. I percent 2
1.1
no.
I~ercent
1
0.6
total
no. I percent-
178-1
100.0-
analysis
findings
Each question was structured and designed so that the respondent could choose from several possible answers the one representing his feeling. If the respondent felt there was no difference between his professional consultant's role in a small community as compared to that in a large community, he would be expected to answer in a neutral vein, indicating "about the same in both." However, if the respondent reflected a favorable (or unfavorable) feeling toward his relative role, he would indicate it by his response in the appropriate category. A statistical analysis was performed to determine if all percentage differences were significant or were due to chance variation. 5 The 99 percent confidence level was considered significant. At this level of confidence, the probability of a difference of this magnitude being caused by chance is one out of 100.
Examination of Table No. I reveals that respondents feel that residents of small communities consult pharmacists more often about health matters than do residents of large communities. The proportion of respondents exhibiting a favorable opinion is significantly greater than the proportion showing an unfavorable opinion or a neutral opinion. It is particularly noticeable that not one respondent feels that residents of small communities consult the pharmacist less often. This finding gives the inference that pharmacists in small California communities experience satisfactions in their roles as health consultants to the residents of their communities. These satisfactions are based upon their feelings when they compare their roles with those which they believe are played by pharmacists in large communities. Table No. II shows a favorable opinion when the pharmacist in the small
518
Journal of
the AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION
community compares his experience as a drug consultant to that which he feels is experienced by pharmacists in large communities. Here also the favorable opinion is statistically' significant above the acceptable level. From this statistic one may infer that pharmacists in small communities experience satisfactions in their roles as drug consultants. However, this feeling is not as widespread as that exhibited in Table No. 1. It may be observed that a fairly large proportion of respondents felt that physicians consulted pharmacists about drugs as often in large communities as they did in small communities. To take one's place in the community as a member of a profession, one accepts the role as a leader in the community. The role takes the form of active participation in community affairs. Does the pharmacist in a small community feel that he takes a more active part in civic affairs than does his counterpart in a large community' \Vith few exceptions, pharmacists in small communities view their civic roles in a favorable light (see Table III). This view is statistically significant above the acceptable level. These pharmacists feel that they take a more active part in civic affairs than their counterparts in large communities when they compare their civic activities to those which they think other pharmacists assume. Consideration should be given as to whether the opinions are unique to specific categories; i.e., are these pharmacists homogeneous in their feelings or are there specific categories which show varying opinions' No category was found to be unique when the opinions were broken down and analyzed by size of community, number of pharmacies in the community, number of physicians, number of prescriptions dispensed annually and annual sales volume. For example, there were no significant differences in the opinions expressed by respondents who reported an annual sales volume of less than $100,000 and those who reported an annual sales volume of $200,000 and over. The homogeneity held true for all questions. It should be noted also that the proportions in all tables show a constant pattern of increasing proportions from unfavorable to favorable.
conclusions The primary concern of a pharmacist is to take his place as a member of his profession. His satisfactions regarding his professional environment are heightened when he is able to compare favorably his professional environment with that which he believes exists elsewhere. Conversely, his satisfactions would be lowered if the comparisons were unfavorable. In general, the respondents in this
mining the size of community in which a pharmacist locates to practice his profession, how does he view his role as a pharmacist? Having spent frve or more years in a college or university preparing for his professional career, does he feel that his selection of location provides him with greater professional satisfactions than do alternative locations? \Vith these questions in mind, an exploratory study was designed to inquire into the opinions of pharmacists. The study was specifically directed toward pharmacists located in small communities. I The concern was how pharmacists in small communities viewed their professional roles . The study included other considerations, such as opinions regarding the experience requirements for the supervision of non -professional personnel, but the objective of one phase- the pharmacists' roles as consultants- was to inquire into the "opinions " of pharmacists in small communities when they compared their professional consultants' roles with that which they felt existed in large communities. The opmlOns were directed toward their relative feelings as (1) health consultants to the residents of the community and (:2) drug consultants to physicians. The opinions mayor may not be correct in a factual sense; however , the individual experiences satisfactions (or dissatisfactions) and makes decisions based on what he beliez'es is correct and not on the basis of what, in fact , may be true. This position can be demonstrated by the situation in which some persons are of the opinion that the price of drugs is too high regardless of evidence to the contrary. John M . Firestone refers to his index and notes that " the pharmaceutical index cannot convince anyone that prescriptions are a bargain , if he already believes they are too high." 2 Although opinions vary in intensity , no attempt was made to measure the strength of opinions. The survey was an estimate of what proportion of respondents subscribe to a given opinion.
methodology A list of cities in California with a population of 10,000 persons or less was taken from the California Statistical
.·lbstract. 3 The pharmacies located in these cities then were culled from the directory of registered pharmacies distributed by the California State Board of Pharmacy. 4 U si ng these cri teria , the researchers determined the particular group under consideration to be comprised of pharmacists in :380 pharmacies. Time and financial considerations made it necessary to use a mail questionnaire. To avoid contacting the specified group, the questionnaire was pretested in cities with populations above 10,000 but less than 15 ,000 persons (appropriate changes in wording were made to fit the communities used for pretesting). A questionnaire addressed to the registered pharmacist owner and/ or manager was sent to all the pharmacies located in communities of 10,000 persons or less. Two were returned because the pharmacies were no longer in existence. The researchers received 185 responses . Of this number, seven were discarded , leaving 178 usable questionnaires giving a return of -+7.1 percent . If!
.,
•
•
•
lao
•
•
.,
•
•
..
limitations No single question can adequately sample an opinion which is usually multi-dimensional. Also, the intensity of feeling will yary from person to person. The researchers confined themselves to one aspect only of the professional role- the pharmacist's relative yiewpoint regarding his role as a consultant to the residents of his community and his role as a consultant to the physician . Two basic problems exist when using mailed questionnaires. There is the possibility that non-respondents differ from those who do respond and the returns may not reflect a cross section of those con tacted. The study was limited to pharmacies in small communities in California and may not be projected to other geographical areas with statistical certainty. Some of the responses may be based upon limited experiences rather than opinions. This factor would tend to influence responses .
..... . ... .... . . . .
Charles Whittenberg, chief pharmacist at Dameron Hospital in Stockton , California, is a relative newcomer to the practice of pharmacy. After receiving his BSc degree in pharmacy from the University of the Pacific just last year he became a candidate for the doctor of pharmacy degree from the university school of pharmacy. Among his association activities he includes membership in APhA and Phi Delta Chi fraternity.
Max Polinsky is assistant professor of pharmacy administration at the University of the Pacific school of pharmacy. He entered pharmacy from Idaho State College where he received his BSc degree in 1953. Now with an MBA degree from the University of Wisconsin behind him he is working on a PhD degree from the same university. The APhA member includes among his activities, memberships in American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education, Rho Chi and Phi Delta Chi.
Vol. NS3, No. 10, October 1963
517
table 1 In your opiniOn, how often do you feel that people in smaller communities consult with the pharmacist regarding health matters as compared to people in larger communities?
more often in smaller communities
about the same in both
~f
percent
149
83.7
no. I 26
less often in smaller communities
percent
no.
14.6
0
fper:ent
no opinion
total
no.
fpercent
no.
fpercent
3
1.7
178
100.0
table 2 In your opinion, how often do you feel that physicians in smaller communities consult with the pharmacist about drugs as compared to physicians in larger communities?
more often in smaller communities
about the same in both
no.
percent
no.
51.1
60
less often in smaller communities
no opinion
total
-----
I
91
-I!erc~nt ~Ipercent _~I percent _~Ipercent 33.7
16
9.0
11
6.2
178
100.0
table 3 In your opinion, how active a part in civic affairs do you feel the smaller-com· munity pharmacist takes as compared to the pharmacist in the larger community?
more active in smaller communities
about the same in both
less active in smaller communities
no opinion
--
~I
percent
164
~2.1
no. I 11
percent 6.2
no. I percent 2
1.1
no.
I~ercent
1
0.6
total
no. I percent-
178-1
100.0-
analysis
findings
Each question was structured and designed so that the respondent could choose from several possible answers the one representing his feeling. If the respondent felt there was no difference between his professional consultant's role in a small community as compared to that in a large community, he would be expected to answer in a neutral vein, indicating "about the same in both." However, if the respondent reflected a favorable (or unfavorable) feeling toward his relative role, he would indicate it by his response in the appropriate category. A statistical analysis was performed to determine if all percentage differences were significant or were due to chance variation. 5 The 99 percent confidence level was considered significant. At this level of confidence, the probability of a difference of this magnitude being caused by chance is one out of 100.
Examination of Table No. I reveals that respondents feel that residents of small communities consult pharmacists more often about health matters than do residents of large communities. The proportion of respondents exhibiting a favorable opinion is significantly greater than the proportion showing an unfavorable opinion or a neutral opinion. It is particularly noticeable that not one respondent feels that residents of small communities consult the pharmacist less often. This finding gives the inference that pharmacists in small California communities experience satisfactions in their roles as health consultants to the residents of their communities. These satisfactions are based upon their feelings when they compare their roles with those which they believe are played by pharmacists in large communities. Table No. II shows a favorable opinion when the pharmacist in the small
518
Journal of
the AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION
community compares his experience as a drug consultant to that which he feels is experienced by pharmacists in large communities. Here also the favorable opinion is statistically' significant above the acceptable level. From this statistic one may infer that pharmacists in small communities experience satisfactions in their roles as drug consultants. However, this feeling is not as widespread as that exhibited in Table No. 1. It may be observed that a fairly large proportion of respondents felt that physicians consulted pharmacists about drugs as often in large communities as they did in small communities. To take one's place in the community as a member of a profession, one accepts the role as a leader in the community. The role takes the form of active participation in community affairs. Does the pharmacist in a small community feel that he takes a more active part in civic affairs than does his counterpart in a large community' \Vith few exceptions, pharmacists in small communities view their civic roles in a favorable light (see Table III). This view is statistically significant above the acceptable level. These pharmacists feel that they take a more active part in civic affairs than their counterparts in large communities when they compare their civic activities to those which they think other pharmacists assume. Consideration should be given as to whether the opinions are unique to specific categories; i.e., are these pharmacists homogeneous in their feelings or are there specific categories which show varying opinions' No category was found to be unique when the opinions were broken down and analyzed by size of community, number of pharmacies in the community, number of physicians, number of prescriptions dispensed annually and annual sales volume. For example, there were no significant differences in the opinions expressed by respondents who reported an annual sales volume of less than $100,000 and those who reported an annual sales volume of $200,000 and over. The homogeneity held true for all questions. It should be noted also that the proportions in all tables show a constant pattern of increasing proportions from unfavorable to favorable.
conclusions The primary concern of a pharmacist is to take his place as a member of his profession. His satisfactions regarding his professional environment are heightened when he is able to compare favorably his professional environment with that which he believes exists elsewhere. Conversely, his satisfactions would be lowered if the comparisons were unfavorable. In general, the respondents in this