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Stop Cursing the Darkness
stop cursing the darkness Image-a mental conception held in common by members of a group and symbol ic of a basic attitude and orientation toward someth ing (as a person, class , racial type , polit ical philosophy or nationality).
Thus W ebster's Dictionary defi nes t he t erm whic h ha s been used so often in con junction with pu bli c relati on s. Some say " t h e im age " of pharmacy is badly t arnished; others say ther e is nothing wrong with " our im age," ch iding those wh o claim otherwise. Yet few, if any, have ever really analyze d the t erm in its broadest concept and few, if any, have ever accurately defined what they mean by " image." To be sure , such an analys is is complex, but perhaps a few words about what is meant by " our im age" will st imulate some t hin king and hopefully might even precipit ate some action . " Your image," as related t o yo ur everyday practice, is the mental conce pt ion held by yo ur patrons , friends and neighbor s, of you as an individual. T his " image" in volves yo u as a pe rso n, colored by all the various fact or s as yo ur sex, yo ur age, your appearance, yo ur mannerism s, your attit udes and, whe n known , yo ur race, yo ur religion, your political philosoph y-but mo st important of all-your profession as you practice it. This " image" also in volves a mental concept ion of yo ur ph armacy as an inst it ut ion in your community and is affecte d by all of those who pract ice or othe rw ise are employe d in yo ur pharmacy , all of the physical characterist ics of yo ur ph armacy and , even t o some degree, by yo ur patron s. No man is an island unto himself. T h us "your image" is further influenced by all other pharmacists yo ur publics meet and by eve rything they hear and read about pharmacy in its broadest sense. H ere then is whe re "your im age" and " the im age of the pharma ceut ica l profession of phar macy" merge. We canno t ignore t he problem fac ed by anyone conce rned with "class im ages"-that it t akes only one mem ber of the group to t arnish the " image" of t en ot hers. D uring recent months, various pharmacy leaders have ren ewed the cry for a public relations progr am t o improve "our image." K enneth S. Griswold, secretary of the New York State Bo ard of Pharmacy , has ca lled for a five million -dollar public relations program suppo rted by all pharmacy organization s and all members of the profession. H ank Parkinson in the Jo urnal o] Kansas P harmacy describes a new public relation s program in that state t o improve "a tarnishe d im age." H e challenge d, " Let 1966 be rem embered as the year K an sas pharm acists quit cursing the darkness and lit a candle." But when we light that ca nd le, it is important t o reali ze that it has t o be bright enoug h for us to see ourselves, as well as for our pu bli cs to see us. Glenn Sonne decker recently complete d an explorat ory paper for a po ssibl e national st ud y of ph armacy as a professionalized occupation and, as reported at our Dallas annual meeting, APHA is now seeking funds to implem ent the st udy. Sonnede cker has pointed ou tThe balance and tension of opposing forces of professional and commercial organizations largely account for differences in 'professionalization .' Thus there is little hope for some single force , publicity agent or wh ite -coated mannerisms, which alone could give an occupat ion the lasting professional status its members seek. Yet, there are points of leverage to be utilized , especially by an occupation already within the orbit of professionalism, which can be beneficial to the public and practitioner alike. It happens over and over, says an elder statesman of occupational sociology, that the people who practice an occupation attempt to revise the conceptions which their various publics have of the occupation and of the people in it. In so doing, they also attempt to revise their own conception of themselves and of thei r work.
Grover Bowles reported in D all as that the proposed st udy will cost an est imate d $500,000 and he aske d, " Is the profession prep ared t o m ake this in vestment ?" If the profession is interested in its " image" as well as the service that it can provide to its fellowmen , it had better be prepared to make this investment. Ot he rw ise, we shall continue to " curse the darkness" because no other light can possibl y provide the candle power that is needed t o guide us into the future.
--George B. Griffenhagen Vol. NS6. N o. 8, Au gust 1966
413
Thus W ebster's Dictionary defi nes t he t erm whic h ha s been used so often in con junction with pu bli c relati on s. Some say " t h e im age " of pharmacy is badly t arnished; others say ther e is nothing wrong with " our im age," ch iding those wh o claim otherwise. Yet few, if any, have ever really analyze d the t erm in its broadest concept and few, if any, have ever accurately defined what they mean by " image." To be sure , such an analys is is complex, but perhaps a few words about what is meant by " our im age" will st imulate some t hin king and hopefully might even precipit ate some action . " Your image," as related t o yo ur everyday practice, is the mental conce pt ion held by yo ur patrons , friends and neighbor s, of you as an individual. T his " image" in volves yo u as a pe rso n, colored by all the various fact or s as yo ur sex, yo ur age, your appearance, yo ur mannerism s, your attit udes and, whe n known , yo ur race, yo ur religion, your political philosoph y-but mo st important of all-your profession as you practice it. This " image" also in volves a mental concept ion of yo ur ph armacy as an inst it ut ion in your community and is affecte d by all of those who pract ice or othe rw ise are employe d in yo ur pharmacy , all of the physical characterist ics of yo ur ph armacy and , even t o some degree, by yo ur patron s. No man is an island unto himself. T h us "your image" is further influenced by all other pharmacists yo ur publics meet and by eve rything they hear and read about pharmacy in its broadest sense. H ere then is whe re "your im age" and " the im age of the pharma ceut ica l profession of phar macy" merge. We canno t ignore t he problem fac ed by anyone conce rned with "class im ages"-that it t akes only one mem ber of the group to t arnish the " image" of t en ot hers. D uring recent months, various pharmacy leaders have ren ewed the cry for a public relations progr am t o improve "our image." K enneth S. Griswold, secretary of the New York State Bo ard of Pharmacy , has ca lled for a five million -dollar public relations program suppo rted by all pharmacy organization s and all members of the profession. H ank Parkinson in the Jo urnal o] Kansas P harmacy describes a new public relation s program in that state t o improve "a tarnishe d im age." H e challenge d, " Let 1966 be rem embered as the year K an sas pharm acists quit cursing the darkness and lit a candle." But when we light that ca nd le, it is important t o reali ze that it has t o be bright enoug h for us to see ourselves, as well as for our pu bli cs to see us. Glenn Sonne decker recently complete d an explorat ory paper for a po ssibl e national st ud y of ph armacy as a professionalized occupation and, as reported at our Dallas annual meeting, APHA is now seeking funds to implem ent the st udy. Sonnede cker has pointed ou tThe balance and tension of opposing forces of professional and commercial organizations largely account for differences in 'professionalization .' Thus there is little hope for some single force , publicity agent or wh ite -coated mannerisms, which alone could give an occupat ion the lasting professional status its members seek. Yet, there are points of leverage to be utilized , especially by an occupation already within the orbit of professionalism, which can be beneficial to the public and practitioner alike. It happens over and over, says an elder statesman of occupational sociology, that the people who practice an occupation attempt to revise the conceptions which their various publics have of the occupation and of the people in it. In so doing, they also attempt to revise their own conception of themselves and of thei r work.
Grover Bowles reported in D all as that the proposed st udy will cost an est imate d $500,000 and he aske d, " Is the profession prep ared t o m ake this in vestment ?" If the profession is interested in its " image" as well as the service that it can provide to its fellowmen , it had better be prepared to make this investment. Ot he rw ise, we shall continue to " curse the darkness" because no other light can possibl y provide the candle power that is needed t o guide us into the future.
--George B. Griffenhagen Vol. NS6. N o. 8, Au gust 1966
413