From apothecary to ‘McPharmacist’? Skills utilisation amongst community pharmacists in England

This article speaks to ongoing sociological debate around the fast-changing organisation of medicine and the implications for skills utilisation – with a specific focus on community pharmacy. While the professional status of pharmacists has been the subject of much debate, the closely related theme of skills deployment has been significantly overlooked. Any coverage of skills has largely been restricted to the deskilling effect of technology; analysis of the role other contextual factors might play has been piecemeal and fragmented. Drawing on qualitative data, this article aims to offer a more nuanced view of the skills trajectory, exploring employer and national policy and professional drivers of change. The results show these factors constrain and enable human agency, depending on the setting, opening up possibilities for both reskilling and deskilling. As such, the findings stress the important mediating influence exerted by ‘place’, i.e. the clinical setting on opportunities for skills development.