Policy and professionalism in pharmacy education

Abstract

Pharmacy as a profession in the United Kingdom (UK) is on a path of significant change with legislative and policy changes to practice happening or on the horizon. The UK government review of the regulation of health professionals will have a major impact on the profession of pharmacy and thus on the education of pharmacists. For many pharmacy academics there is also an interesting dual professional identify; academics have an occupational identity from being a teacher but their identity as a subject specialist comes from their professional background. This essay will explore the impact of policy and professionalism on these dual identities in the context of pharmacy higher education.