Harvey A.K. Whitney lecture. Taking charge of the profession.

The relationship between pharmacists' attitudes toward the profession and their career opportunities is described. Pharmacists must be committed to the idea that pharmacy is an essential component of health care. Pharmacy education needs to instill an attitude of service and excellence and an expectation of success. Social, political, economic, and professional change has challenged fundamental assumptions and values that made life predictable in the past. Pharmacists have permitted others to establish the scope and limits of professional pharmacy practice; it is time for pharmacists themselves to determine the future of their profession by focusing on providing services to fulfill unmet health-care needs. The profession as a whole will suffer if pharmacists view certain practice roles or settings as inferior. When all pharmacists accept "drug-use control" as the primary ethic that drives pharmaceutical decisions, the public, the government, and other health-care providers will respect that role for pharmacists. Studying the pharmacy literature can enhance pharmacists' positive feelings about their contributions. Pharmacists alone are responsible for the status of the profession and for changing what needs to be changed. By changing their thinking about the profession, pharmacists can broaden their career opportunities.