Professionalism in Pharmacy: A Case Study and Ethical Analysis

This report analyzes a case of professional misconduct involving a pharmacist, drawing from an AHPRA panel decision. The case summary details the pharmacist's struggles with substance abuse and how it led to violations of professional conduct. The analysis delves into the definition of professionalism, highlighting the importance of ethical standards, integrity, and collegiality. The report examines the factors that contributed to the situation, such as the pharmacist's lack of commitment to professional standards, poor personal choices, and failure to maintain appropriate relationships. It emphasizes the role of professional bodies in setting guidelines and ensuring patient care. The assignment concludes with a discussion of the consequences of the pharmacist's actions and the importance of adhering to professional codes of ethics in healthcare. The references include key literature on workplace justice and nursing ethics.

Assessment Task 1 – Being Professional
1. URL of the Case Summary
http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/tas/TASHPT//2015/6.html
2. Summarise the case and outline why you found it interesting.
Professionalism is defined as goals, behavior, and qualities that characterize a
profession or a professional individual. The respondent, in this case, is guilty of
professional misconduct of using, supplying and possession of controlled drugs which is
against her professionalism (Chin et al., 2017). The victim is believed to be a pharmacist
who has been brought up by caring and loving parents and also excelled in her academic
work. Immediately after graduation, the respondent was able to secure a job as a
pharmacist as she had become a professional in the field of pharmacy. However, in 2009
the respondent was transferred to another city for her work matters started deteriorating as
she no longer got support from her family members and friends. The respondent had to
move into a shared room with people whose lifestyle involved excessive use of alcohol and
illicit drugs and over time she copied their lifestyle which compromised her professional
code of ethics. The respondent had to do all this to fit into the new social environment. She
also ended up dating one of the housemates which further complicated her situation. Due to
the use of drugs and alcohol her health started deteriorating. The most exciting part of the
story is that after the respondent was interviewed by the police officer in regards to her
offenses, she accepted to change by distancing herself from the social group which had
made her enter into illegal conducts as well as going against her professional code of
ethics. The respondent was embarrassed and ashamed of her behavior. She managed to find
a separate accommodation which helped her distance herself from his boyfriend and
roommates. By doing so, the respondent was able to go back to a healthy lifestyle which

was generally good for her wellbeing.
3. Through your analysis, discuss why you think the situation occurred, using the
language of professionalism.
Achieving the consensus for defining professionalism and what it accounts to
professional actions and roles by nurses in health care institutions make it possible for
industry to provide high consistent healthcare services (Green, 2018). Currently, there is
professional assurance bodies with the objective of setting guidelines and code of practices
which ensure that patients receive the best possible standard of care. Professional is a
group of disciplined individuals who adhere to high ethical standards, and the public
accepts them due to their skills.
The reason this situation happened to the respondent is that she was not committed
in her professional because there are some standards and rules which guide individuals in
different professions, and if she followed them, she could not end up in her compromised
situation of illegal behavior of unauthorized supply and use of controlled drugs. The
respondent lacked integrity in which she did not know what was expected of her as a
pharmacist and that why she ended up in bad illegal behavior which compromised her
professional code of ethics. She was also not focused in her work; the respondent led her
private life which was already compromised affect her career by leading a reckless life of
drinking alcohol and taking illicit drugs to please her roommate which also significantly
influenced her health. The respondent also lacked an essential component of
professionalism which is collegiality which is a relationship with friends to acquire respect
and mutual trust. Respondent went against this component by having a relationship with
the wrong company of people which ended up misleading her and not helping her grow her
career. Instead of spending time with her co-workers to develop her career and improve the
patient she ended up in the wrong group where they could spend a lot of time drinking, and

it eventually affected her health making her not able to work effectively as a pharmacist.

References
Chin, W., Guo, Y. L. L., Hung, Y. J., Hsieh, Y. T., Wang, L. J., & Shiao, J. S. C. (2017).
Workplace justice and intention to leave the nursing profession. Nursing ethics,
0969733016687160.
Green, C. (2018). Contemporary issues: The pre-licensure nursing student and medication
errors.