Women pharmacists

In Chap. 10, we provide an account of the pioneering women pharmacists, some of whom had been active chemists. Even more than crystallography and biochemistry, pharmacy was a direction in which women chemists could find employment. In addition, the fight for the admission of women to... 

Of particular interest, the fight for women s entry into the Pharmaceutical Society, though conducted in an earlier period, shows interesting parallels with the battle for membership of the Chemical Society. Pharmacy also provides a contrast to chemistry in that the Association of Women Pharmacists became a strong focus for women, unlike the short-lived Women Chemists Dining Club (see Chap. 2). 

Minshull, Stammwitz, and Rowland put forward their case in a letter to the Pharmaceutical Journal All that we ask is to be allowed the same opportunities for study, the same field for competition and the same honours, if justly won. 20 The issue of women s admission was next raised at the Annual General Meeting in May 1873. Hampson and his friends pressed the case of the women pharmacists. As Holloway commented The supporters of Hampson s motion dominated the debate, won all the arguments, and were heavily defeated at the end of the day. 21 Jordan notes that, following the defeat, Hampson s crusade changed tack ... 

Even though it was possible to find appointments with just the Apothecaries Assistant s examination, Spencer expressed concern that these minimally qualified women would hurt the cause of women pharmacists If they do so, by their inexperience they bring the whole question of the employment of ladies in pharmacy into disrepute. 27... 

Women pharmacists usually ended up in the worst-paid and most demanding areas of pharmacy. By 1908, there were still only 160 women registered as pharmacists, while only about two thirds were practising pharmacists.6 Of those who had abandoned their careers, some had married (and often had been forced to resign), others had emigrated, and the remainder had changed careers (for example, to medicine). Of those in the profession of pharmacy, over 60% were working in hospitals and institutions about 20% were in retail pharmacy, most often as assistants 12% were dispensers to doctors in private practice a few were employed by wholesale pharmaceutical houses and still fewer were analysts, lecturers, or researchers. 

Though the hospital work was simply routine dispensing, the women pharmacists did make their mark, as Margaret Buchanan commented In such a position the orderliness and attention to detail, the tact and desire to please, which are supposed to be natural to most women, are the most necessary parts of their stock-in-trade, and there have been not a few instances, where women s business capacity and an up-to-date knowledge of drugs and economical methods have led to practical appreciation on the part of committees. 39... 

The need for the Association of Women Pharmacists became apparent once more during the backlash of the 1922-1929 period. For example, in 1922, the Pharmaceutical Journal contained a letter from A Pharmacist ... 

Recovery came by 1937, when women made up 10% of the names on the Register, although the first woman President was not elected until 1947.53 The National Association of Women Pharmacists continues to thrive today.54... 

She was a pioneer of women s work in pharmacy and has trained many of the best women pharmacists. No one who came in contact with her bright intelligent personality could fail to be affected by it. She was a wonderful and inspiring teacher, and laid the foundation of sound pharmaceutical knowledge.eo(b)... 

Borrowman was active with the Association of Women Pharmacists from its founding. In 1924, she was the first woman to be invited onto the Board of Examiners of the Pharmaceutical Society, an appointment she held until 1937. She was also elected President of the South-West London Chemists Association. Among other activities, she helped compile Pharmacopedia with Edmund White and John Humphrey.58... 

Another pioneer stalwart of the Association of Women Pharmacists, Elsie Hooper,68 bom in 1880, passed the Major examination in 1902. Hooper was probably one of the most prominent early women researchers in pharmacy.58 In 1901, she was the first woman to be awarded the Redwood Research Scholarship and in 1903, she was the first woman recipient of the Burroughs Research Scholarship. 

Renouf was another founder member of the Association of Women Pharmacists, and she was the Treasurer from 1907 until 1916. She, too, was a signatory of the 1909 letter to Chemical News (see Chap. 2). Hooper and Renouf overlapped in... 

Hudson, B. (September 2004). The petticoat peril on the pavement Women s pharmacy history in Lambeth. Newsletter, National Association of Women Pharmacists 8. 

June 1905). Letters in brief Women pharmacists. Chemist and Druggist 66 975. 

Shetland, E. J. (unpublished work). Chapter II, Some outstanding women pharmacists of the late 19th and the early 20th century. In Women in Pharmacy. We thank the Archivist of the Pharmaceutical Society for a copy of this manuscript. 

Pharmacists already in the workforce can also contribute to solving the shortage. With the proper incentives, women pharmacists may change from traditional work patterns and work more. Incentives may also induce pharmacists to postpone retirement and remain in the workforce. 

The BHPr model provides estimates of future headcounts of pharmacists—dearly a shortcoming in the sense that neither men nor women pharmacists contribute, on average, a single full-time equivalent (PTE) per person. Therefore, an important next step in more accurately predicting the size and character of the future pharmacy workforce is to overlay what is known about past and current work patterns of pharmacists on the BHPr model. 

Table 25.2 outlines weekly hours worked by men and women pharmacists as recorded in a 2000 national survey. The study found, as several... 

Women pharmacists have also shown a preference for working in an institutional pharmacy setting—hospitals and medical centers—over a community pharmacy setting, and a recent study showedthat this propensity... 

Metta Lou Henderson, American Women Pharmacists Contributions to the Profession (Binghamton, NY Pharmaceutical Products Press, 2002), p. 3. 

American Women Pharmacists Contributions to the Profession by Metta Lou Henderson... 

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