AIHP member Tracey Mersfelder, PharmD, published Saint Raphael and the Patron Saints of Pharmacy this past July. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience teaching pharmacy history, Mersfelder explores the profession’s roots. This book discusses the profession’s roots from Sirach and the Book of Tobit through medieval Baghdad, Wedgwood mortars, and the modern pharmacy counter. Each chapter contains a brief saint bibliography and connects to longtsanding pharmacy traditions.
For pharmacists, historians, and curious readers alike, this book offers an opportunity to discover the stories behind familiar pharmacy symbols and practices. It explores how faith, recovery, and pharmacy practices have evolved over time to provide us with the perspective the we currently hold.
AIHP recently interviewed author Tracey Mersfelder to explore the inspiration behind her book, the motivations that guided her writing, and its significance in preserving and illuminating the history of pharmacy.
My story of what drew me to pharmacy is similar to many I have encountered over the years. As a student, I excelled in chemistry and mathematics, and it was my mother who first suggested pharmacy as a career. I was fortunate to secure a position in an outpatient VA pharmacy, where several mentors took a genuine interest in both my development and education. Their encouragement reinforced my decision, and from that point forward, I never looked back.
After being accepted into pharmacy school, I continued to benefit from exceptional faculty mentors who challenged and inspired me. By the end of pharmacy school, I had realized that my true passion was not only practicing pharmacy but also teaching it. To prepare for an academic career, I earned my PharmD and completed two years of residency training.
During my residency, one of the faculty members was an avid collector of pharmacy artifacts and invited the residents to visit his home. His collection was essentially a miniature pharmacy museum, filled with fascinating pieces of pharmacy history. I was in awe, and that visit sparked a lasting appreciation for the artifacts of our profession.
For me, this interest began during pharmacy school. I was fascinated by pharmacy artifacts. A small town near campus had several antique stores, and one in particular frequently carried pharmacy-related items. I purchased a few pieces and admired many others that were beyond my budget as a student. Looking back, those purchases were worthwhile investments, as I still use many of them today as teaching props to help bring pharmacy history to life.
Several years later, I was invited to present a lecture on the history of pharmacy as part of a statewide traveling museum program. Preparing for that presentation led me to explore the history of the profession in much greater depth. I immersed myself in books, articles, and historical resources and have never stopped learning. Today, I have the privilege of sharing that passion with others by teaching a History of Pharmacy elective to pharmacy students.
On one hand, the profession of pharmacy has given me so much. Being a pharmacist is not simply what I do; it is part of who I am. My passion for the history of pharmacy has enriched my appreciation for a profession that I enjoyed practicing and teaching for many years. On the other hand, my Catholic faith has played a significant role in my life and has been instrumental in shaping the person I am today. For many years, I looked for a meaningful way to bring together these two important aspects of my life: pharmacy and faith. While several ideas emerged over the years, none fully developed into a cohesive project. Eventually, the concept evolved into exploring the lives and contributions of notable figures in pharmacy who were Catholic and connecting their stories to key moments in the history of the profession.
There seems to be a patron saint for nearly every aspect of life. Catholics ask these saints to intercede and pray for them regarding specific needs, occupations, causes, or challenges. This book explores the saints associated with the profession of pharmacy. In most cases, a saint’s connection to pharmacy can be traced to some aspect of his or her life, work, ministry, or healing activities. These associations often provide a clear explanation for why pharmacists and others in the healthcare professions have sought their intercession. However, a few saints have long been invoked in connection with pharmacy and medicine, even though the original reasons for those associations have been lost to history over the past two millennia.
Perhaps the most interesting discovery I made while researching this book was learning about the pharmacy established in Indiana in 1844 by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. Through collaboration with the archive department at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, I was able to learn more about the original pharmacy and its role in the community. By piecing together historical descriptions and records, we were able to identify the exact location where the pharmacy once stood.
An equally rewarding and unexpected discovery was the identification of several pharmacists from the early twentieth century who were later recognized as saints. Four of these individuals are discussed in this book, and prior to beginning my research, I was unaware of their connections to both pharmacy and sainthood. Their lives exemplified many of the same virtues that pharmacists strive to demonstrate today, including service, compassion, integrity, and dedication to others.
Because of the significance to the history of pharmacy, I had the opportunity to work with John Grabenstein to have the 1844 Indiana pharmacy and these individuals included in the AIHP Interactive Atlas.
The scruple is a symbol that I have come to appreciate. In exploring its history, I found myself tracing the development of weight systems back to ancient Babylonian times. In addition, the word for scruple changed across languages and centuries.
This is a history book for everyone. It was written for individuals across all areas of pharmacy, from academia and clinical practice to drug discovery, industry, and pharmaceutical sales, in addition to anyone who likes history, particularly the lives of the saints.
My hope is that readers come away with a greater appreciation for both the rich history of pharmacy and the individuals whose faith inspired lives of service to others. Through the stories in this book, I hope they see that the values we cherish as pharmacists today, compassion, integrity, scholarship, and a commitment to healing, have deep roots that extend across centuries. Most of all, I hope readers find inspiration in the lives of those who combined professional excellence, with a dedication to something greater than themselves.
To answer this question, I reviewed feedback from previous students in my elective course. Their comments highlighted the value of learning from the past, gaining new perspectives, building on a foundation, while understanding how the profession has evolved, and help prevent repeating past mistakes. I believe these reflections demonstrate that students understand why pharmacy history remains relevant and important to all of us.
Both organizations play vital roles in preserving and promoting the history of pharmacy. Through their efforts, they are safeguarding the profession’s heritage while also encouraging students and practitioners to continue researching the past. My involvement with these organizations has allowed me to develop professional relationships with others who share an interest in pharmacy history. I especially enjoy learning from their scholarship and teaching, whether through publications, presentations, or personal conversations. Engaging with this community has broadened my understanding of the profession’s history.
I believe my greatest passion is teaching the History of Pharmacy elective. I am always talking about it. The wide variety of topics explored in the course, combined with the hands-on activities and discussions that engage students, continually renews my enthusiasm for the profession’s past. Each time I teach the course, I am reminded that pharmacy history is far more than a collection of dates and events. Seeing students connect with that history and discover its relevance to modern practice, is what keeps me excited about sharing and preserving our profession’s legacy.
I am always exploring new avenues of research, and many of those ideas are sparked by attending meetings sponsored by the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP). I never know which idea will become my next project, and that sense of discovery is part of what makes the work so enjoyable. In the end, I’ve found that researching and sharing the history of pharmacy is simply a great deal of fun.
