Dr. Ugo Clinton@Dr_Akajipen
As a licensed, clinically trained pharmacist practicing in Nigeria, I need to correct your post directly because it spreads misinformation that can harm public understanding.
Calling pharmacist-led consultations “quackery” is simply wrong. Quackery refers to untrained and unlicensed practice. Pharmacists are regulated by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria under the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria Act 2022. We undergo years of structured training, complete internships, and maintain continuous professional development. That is not quackery, it is regulated healthcare practice.
You also claim pharmacists don’t assess patients properly. That’s inaccurate. Clinically trained pharmacists are taught structured patient assessment, including symptom history, red-flag identification, and evidence-based decision-making for minor ailments. Not every condition requires lab tests or hospital-level examination. Suggesting otherwise shows a misunderstanding of basic primary care principles.
On prescribing, your position is outdated. Pharmacists already manage medications, counsel patients, and guide therapy daily. Expanding prescribing for minor ailments is not a radical idea, it is already standard in countries like the United Kingdom and Canada, where it improves access, reduces healthcare burden, and maintains safety. Nigeria is moving in the same direction through evolving national policies.
It is also important to address your subtle dismissal of professional titles. A Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) is a doctoral degree. Those who have earned it are fully entitled to be addressed as “Doctor” in professional contexts. This is not an assumption or imitation of another profession, it is recognition of an academic and clinical qualification that has been rigorously obtained.
What your argument ignores is reality. Nigeria has a severe healthcare workforce shortage. Community pharmacies are often the first and most accessible point of care. When patients walk into a pharmacy for malaria, allergies, or minor infections, they are not bypassing care, they are accessing it.
Yes, there are bad actors, but that exists in every profession. You don’t define a profession by its worst examples. The real problem in Nigeria is weak enforcement against unqualified providers, not licensed pharmacists practicing within their competence.
Framing pharmacists as “impersonating doctors” doesn’t protect patients, it limits access to care and fuels unnecessary professional conflict. Modern healthcare is built on collaboration, not territorial thinking.
Pharmacists are not the problem. We are part of the solution, especially in a system where patients need timely, accessible, and evidence-based care.
If the goal is better healthcare, then the focus should be on stronger policies, better collaboration, and proper regulation, not misinformation.
