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Ethical cognition and selection-socialization in retail pharmacy
1Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, 1460 University Drive, Winchester, VA 22601. dlatif@su.edu
Journal of Business Ethics : JBE
|January 16, 2002
Summary
Pharmacy students demonstrate higher ethical reasoning than practicing retail pharmacists, suggesting potential issues in the retail pharmacy environment
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Ethics
- Pharmacy Practice
- Professional Development
Background:
- Ethical cognition is crucial for patient care quality.
- Retail pharmacy, often seen as marginal, requires ethical scrutiny.
- Previous research highlights ethical reasoning in physicians and nurses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the ethical cognition of retail pharmacists and pharmacy students.
- To compare their ethical reasoning with other healthcare professionals.
- To explore factors influencing ethical reasoning in community pharmacy.
Main Methods:
- Empirical examination using a systematic random sample.
- Comparison between retail pharmacists and pharmacy students.
- Utilized a well-established measure of ethical reasoning based on cognitive-developmental theory.
Main Results:
- Pharmacy students exhibited superior ethical reasoning skills compared to retail pharmacists.
- Retail pharmacists' ethical reasoning abilities were lower than physicians and nurses.
- Findings contradict cognitive moral development theory predictions.
Conclusions:
- Selection and socialization processes in retail pharmacy may attract or retain lower ethical reasoners.
- Higher ethical reasoners might leave community pharmacy for other settings.
- Ethical cognition in community practitioners may decline during their careers.