As you may have seen on ACP’s social media feeds, ACP Council will pursue changing the college’s name from the Alberta College of Pharmacists to the Alberta College of Pharmacy.
“The biggest reason for the name change is to be more reflective of our mandate and the practice of pharmacy,” said ACP Council past president Taciana Pereira. “The college regulates more than pharmacists. We also have pharmacy technicians, and we regulate and license pharmacies. The new name would provide some clarity to the public and would be more inclusive for all of our registrants.”
ACP invited registrants and the public to participate in an online survey, regional meetings, and webinars to have their say on the topic. While some participants felt the name should stay the same, most supported a change.
“From the change side, it was about being inclusive and recognizing that we’re about more than pharmacists,” said Taciana. “One of the concerns that came out of the survey was about the cost of a name change. But expenses relating to a name change won’t impact registrant fees or impact our ability to address our other priorities. We also learned there is a connection with the brand that we’ve created with the college. That’s important because we found a balance in choosing ‘pharmacy’ and being able to maintain our logo and initials.”
ACP’s current logo was created in 2011 and will remain intact, other than changing “pharmacists” to “pharmacy.” The logo carries with it some deep significance. What appears as ϕ in the logo is actually the lower case for the Greek letter “phi” which is the first letter in the Greek words for pharmacy and pharmacist.
While the logo and initials won’t change, Taciana says changing the college’s name is a step in the right direction in helping ACP reach its strategic goal of integrating pharmacy technicians into pharmacy practice.
“Our current name is exclusive,” she said. “Choosing not to change the name might have impeded our progress to achieve our goal.”
ACP supports a name change and will be recommending it to government. However, for the new name to take effect, an amendment to schedule 19 of the Health Professions Act is required.
“Changing the college’s name is about a sense of identity,” said Taciana. “It stands for our professions, including pharmacy technicians. Hopefully, they’ll be able to make a stronger connection with a college that represents all of its registrants.”
