Our MA Student Feyza Kargılı’s Co-Authored Article Has Been Published

The article titled “Professional or Tradesman? The Professional Pendulum of the Pharmacy”, co-authored by our Sociology graduate student Feyza Kargılı, Dr. Elyesa Koytak, and Fatma Betül Baştar, has been published in the Istanbul Commerce University Journal of Social Sciences.

The article examines the transformation of professional occupations in Turkey’s evolving labor market, focusing specifically on the multidimensional nature of the pharmacy profession, which is considered both a “professional” and a “freelance” occupation. It explores the relationship between professional practice and social prestige within this unique framework.

Conducted using a grounded theory approach, the qualitative study is based on in-depth interviews with eight pharmacy owners/managing pharmacists, one assistant pharmacist, two pharmacy interns, one pharmacy employee, and one hospital pharmacist in Istanbul.

Key analytical themes include:

• The functioning of pharmacies as social spaces
• The dynamics of trust, knowledge, and representation between pharmacists and society
• The concept of the “professional pendulum”, which captures the dual role of pharmacists as both professionals and tradespeople
• The role of social media in transforming public perceptions of the pharmacy profession

The findings indicate that pharmacy not only encompasses multiple roles within its own domain, but also involves assuming responsibilities typically associated with other professions. This leads to the introduction of original conceptualizations such as “a profession within a profession” and the “professional pendulum”, which emphasize the need to balance trust, knowledge, and representation in professional practice.

We sincerely congratulate our student and co-authors for their valuable academic contribution and wish them continued success in their future work.

Access the full article here: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/iticusbe/issue/92933/1649390