Am.  Jour,  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1921. 
A  Dream  of  the  Future 
695 
practically  the  whole  of  the  European  countries  have  these  higher 
qualifications  of  pharmacists,  and  now  America  also  is  seriously  dis- 
cussing this  question.  Are  we  to  be  left  hopelessly  behind?  I  am 
convinced  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  we  must  endeavor  to  re- 
awaken in  the  rank  and  file  of  pharmacists  more  of  the  professional 
spirit  and  an  outlook  beyond  the  many  profit-making  schemes  that 
are  suggested  to  us  week  by  week  by  clever  and  imaginative  adver- 
tisers. We  must  not  be  content,  on  the  one  hand,  to  benefit  by  the 
protection  and  privileges  of  a  profession,  and  on  the  other  hand, 
seriously  to  compromise  the  situation  by  an  attitude  of  complacent 
commercialism. 
THE  POLICY  FOR  THE  FUTURE. 
In  the  past  we  have  been  far  too  prone  to  be  the  butt  of  others, 
and  have  been  content  merely  to  defend  our  position  and  our  rights. 
Let  us  in  the. future  endeavor  to  use  the  other  means  of  defense — 
that  is,  to  attack  the  positions  against  us.  In  the  war  the  imme- 
diate objective  on  most  occasions  was  a  short  line  of  trench,  some 
80  to  100  yards  away;  but  there  were  always  many  others  beyond, 
and  the  final  objective  was  almost  present  in  the  minds  of  those 
responsible  for  the  "higher  strategy."  What  shall  be  our  "final  ob- 
jective"? Nothing  less  than  the  evolution  of  a  real  profession  of 
pharmacy.  If  we  do  not  advance  from  our  present  position  and 
secure  that  these  clinical  duties  shall  be  performed  by  pharmacists, 
there  is  a  grave  danger  that,  with  the  surplus  of  medical  men  and 
women  that  will  very  likely  occur  in  the  next  few  years,  we  shall 
find  that  our  objectives  have  been  occupied  by  others.  Besides  those 
holding  the  medical  qualification,  there  is  already  an  indication  that 
there  may  be  other  competitors,  for  I  have  recently  heard  of  one 
school  which  advertises  not  only  a  course  for  the  teaching  of  dis- 
pensing, but,  in  addition,  courses  in  bacteriological  and  clinical  analy- 
ses, which  are  stated  to  be  framed  to  fit  its  students  for  posts  under 
the  Ministry  of  Health. 
In  short,  my  dream  is  of  the  institution  of  a  qualification  based 
upon  the  present  Major — and,  seeing  that  the  term  "Minor"  is  now 
obsolete,  there  is  no  point  in  retaining  the  word  "Major" — to  be  called 
the  Fellowship  examination,  and  that  powers  should  be  obtained  to 
entitle  the  holder  to  call  himself  a  clinical  analyst  or  clinical  pharma- 
cist or  registered  clinical  assistant  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society. 
