Čes. slov. farm. 2014, 63(4):174-177 | DOI: 10.36290/csf.2014.034

Prick of conscience in the pharmaceutical profession

Božena Macešková^*, Michaela Hobzová

Ústav aplikované farmacie FaF, Veterinární a farmaceutická univerzita, Brno

The work of the pharmacist in a pharmacy requires from him not only to solve professional and economic issues, but often the ethical ones as well. For a patient's good it is necessary to choose a morally correct decision, but the fulfilment of any patient's wish according to his or her own ideas of good is not a law for the health worker. The paper describes the situations when the pharmacist when fulfilling the requirement of the patient (often in the form of a medical prescription) may feel prick of conscience. A questionnaire survey has revealed that prick of conscience confronts more often those who are being trained for the profession than those who already practise it. The right for prick of conscience is considered unfounded by some pharmacists with practical experience, whereas undergraduates view it as a possibility of expressing one's own attitude. The paper analyzes the issues which in both categories of respondents are considered to be prick of conscience: oral hormonal contraception, including postcoital contraception, and preparations produced from the cells of aborted embryos.

Keywords: conscience; prick of conscience; hormonal contraception; postcoital contraception; pharmacist

Received: May 27, 2014; Accepted: July 13, 2014; Published: April 1, 2014  Show citation