Pharmacy - The Noble & The Ancient

Pharmacy is one of the oldest professions, older even than banking (believed to have begun around the 3rd millennium B.C. in Greece) with ties to Mesopotamia; the first record of apothecary is registered in 2600 B.C. Babylon. Shen Nung the legendary emperor of China (depicted at the left testing the medicinal quality of an herb) is considered the father of ancient herbal remedies and was celebrated in his ability to prepare medicines for many illnesses. The Eber Papyrus of Egypt (1552 B.C.) was the first pharmacopoeia with a collection of 700 drug preparations which listed prescriptions for ailments as common as headache and constipation and as complex as asthma & even references cancer!

Apparently there wasn't a separation between pharmacy and medicine anciently, as our society historically believes. These ancient practitioners, apothecaries and 'medicine men' simply diagnosed, prescribed, prepared and dispensed their remedies to those who sought them out. One of the greatest practitioners of medicine were the Arabian twins (and Christian martyrs which helped them achieve patron saint status) Damian and Cosmas. They traveled on their own accord and provided health and medical care pro bonno publico to those in need through the ancient region of Aegea.

In 1240 AD the German Emperor Stauferkaiser Frederick the II gave the Edict of Salerno, what later became known as the Magna Carta of Pharmacy. Therein he proclaimed that the profession of pharmacy would be practiced separately from that of medicine, that there would be official supervision of pharmaceutical practice, and that each pharmacist would be obliged to swear an oath, to prepare drugs reliably and with high quality. I suppose in hindsight that this was a necessary evil, as it fixed the price of pharmaceuticals and herbs, making them accessible for the common German citizen. Unfortunately it hurt the profession because it relegated the role of the pharmacist to little more than that of merchant shopkeeper, dispenser, or manufacturer, and prevented him from performing the more specialized roles of clinician, herbalist and healer that he was accustomed to performing.

But the profession advanced and yielded wise and capable pharmacists. Dante Alighieri famous author of the "Divine Comedy" was a noted pharmacist. Self proclaimed prophetic, Nostradamus made many contributions to the field of apothecary. Other pharmacists of note include; Nicholas Culpeper, author of timely works such as, "The English Physician" and the "Complete Herbal" & the brilliant Revolutionary War General (and traitor at right) Benedict Arnold, were respected apothecaries during the 17th and end of the 18th centuries respectively. American favorites: Coca-Cola, Root Beer & Dr. Pepper were invented by pharmacists, John Pemberton, Charles Hires & Charles Alderton respectively. The contribution of all these, and so many other pharmacists, apothecaries and herbalists to our quality of life and modern society is truly staggering... like standing on the shoulders of giants!

Here I find myself, a student of pharmacy (class of 2011), on the threshold of past wisdom and staring down a corridor of future possibility. I feel honored and eager to contribute to this noble and ancient profession. There are maybe a handful of moments that I will never forget where I was and how I was feeling. One such moment was the white coat ceremony for Pacific University of Oregon's entering class of 2011, where I donned the vestment of professional and compassionate healer. I agree with the School of Pharmacy that, "the white coat is a symbolic, non-verbal communication used to express a fundamental belief system that society observes." It provides reassurance and confidence to those that will seek me out, that they will be dealt with competently, seriously and compassionately.