Rebecca Gao 10/1/2025

Canadian Healthcare Network

You might see a new definition for the word “pharmacist” in the dictionary soon. 

At least, that’s what the Nova Scotia Pharmacy Regulator (NSPR) would like to see as it has just launched a new awareness campaign called Redefining Pharmacy Care.

As part of it, the regulator has formally submitted a proposal to the Oxford English Dictionary to update its definition of “pharmacist.” Right now, the word is defined as “a person who is professionally qualified to prepare and dispense medical drugs.” The proposed definition has struck out the part about medicine and instead says that a pharmacist is someone who’s qualified to “provide a broad range of healthcare.” 

A bus stop with an ad as part of NSPR’s campaign.

Beverley Zwicker, NSPR’s CEO and registrar, says the regulator had been working closely with system partners to redesign the province’s healthcare system to better meet the needs of Nova Scotians—in particular, allowing pharmacists to work at their full potential by allowing them to assess, treat and prescribe. But while Nova Scotia’s pharmacists have come a long way, awareness of all the services they can provide isn’t very well-spread, Zwicker explains. That’s why they wanted to redefine pharmacy care for Nova Scotians and point out the breadth of pharmacists’ ability.

“The way people think about pharmacists and what they understand their role to be significantly impacts decisions being made,” Zwicker says. “They need to accept that pharmacists aren’t just the dispensers of medications, that they can actually provide healthcare.” For pharmacists, that also means redefining their own roles. Similarly, other healthcare providers must also see pharmacists as a healthcare provider and not just a dispenser. 

“Now more than ever, we need all our healthcare professionals to be practicing at the top of their license, and we need their licenses to authorize them to practice to the full extent of their education and training,” Zwicker says, adding that it’s also important for the public to see what pharmacists do as care. While hundreds of thousands of Nova Scotians have already accessed healthcare through their pharmacists with very high satisfaction rates, “we’ve still got many more people who have yet to try it and this campaign is aimed at encouraging it.” 

At the heart of the campaign is the belief that words matter, Zwicker says. The Oxford Dictionary, as a trusted source for information around the world, became the jumping off point for the campaign. It’s a campaign that may have global influence as well, since editing the Oxford English Dictionary would mean that the definition would be changed worldwide, something that Zwicker says would mean a global reimagination of pharmacists’ roles.  Around the world, “pharmacists are already doing more than dispensing medication,” Zwicker says. 

Though the NSPR has yet to hear back from the Oxford English Dictionary, Zwicker is hopeful that whoever gets their proposal will take it seriously and look into the roles of pharmacists around the world. “Hopefully they heed our recommendation.”