Occupation

I am a pharmacist by qualification. The discrimination I have faced throughout my life for being a pharmacist is beyond description, but I will try to write it down today.

When I was in 12th I was determined to opt for medical or paramedical field. Medicine, Pharmacy, Biotech, Microbiology, Bio engineering, Occupational therapy, I found all fields to be equally inviting and was ready to accept any of these fields. While I was preparing for competitive exams (plural because for all these fields the entrance exams were different at that time), my dad told me that we will not be able to afford the admission for medicine, so that should be cross off. But I still had other fields open. When the results were out, I selected to go for Pharmacy.

For Pharmacy, I studied for 4 gruelling years. Hours of studies and hours of practicals. I still remember studying till 5 am for exam that would start at 9 am. I remember running on 2 hours of sleep and multiple doses of coffee in my systems during the exams. As a result of which I became a registered pharmacist. 'I am a healthcare professional' I would think to myself, holding the pharmacist's license in my hands. Nothing made me prouder than that.

But in the eyes of the society I was much less. When I would tell people that my qualification is B pharm they would ask me if I said B.Com incorrectly. A lot of people did not even understand what the qualification was and they would give up on understanding it. Many people would ask me if that was one of the specialisation of Bsc and I had hard time explaining that to them. Despite multiple explanations they would still conclude that it is not a professional degree but a general degree. Some people would try to act smart and would ask me, "are you a compounder who sits outside the dispensary of a general practicener? Even a tenth pass can do that work". Initially I used to get angry with such remarks but later on I started feeling pitty for such ignorant people. A lot of people instead of trying to understand they would decide what I do on their own despite me telling otherwise. In reality nobody really understood my qualification and curriculum.

Then I started working. My first job was at a multinational IT company where they had started taking projects from pharmaceutical companies. My experience there was equally consistent. A place that was crowded with engineers and IT professionals could not understand that medicinal field existed as well. They wondered why a non engineer was working there. They would ask questions and expect me to answer their questions in the technical IT terms.

Later on when we were looking for the arrange marriage that time to most candidates I made where not aware of the pharmacy stream of education. I was really surprised with their lack of knowledge outside their own field. A lot of families would tell me that I am not as qualified or educated as an engineer because they would think that it is not a professional degree. I decided to forgive their ignorance. My own family would think that engineers would be more educated than me despite I had completed a 4 year professional degree.

Even today when I get asked about my qualification people are still unsure that what kind of work I do. Unfortunately it is not only with me but with all the pharmacist. Unfortunately even today the profession of a pharmacist is not well recognised in the society. The profession of pharmacist has not been given the importance and recognition as engineers, doctors, architects, lawyers, and many other reputed professions. We are still struggling to find our place in the society.

Now let me end by providing the reason why I am writing about it today. Today which happens to be 25th September is celebrated as the international pharmacist day. An attempt to establish the position and importance of pharmacist in the society. Today I am doing my bit to spread awareness about our noble profession.