Posted on 11/09/2005 3:57:04 AM PST by kcvl
By MARGARET STAFFORD, Associated Press Writer Mon Nov 7, 3:40 AM ET
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Unlike most college students nearing graduation, Clarissa Hall isn't worried about finding a job — she's already considering several offers, including some with possible starting salaries of at least $80,000. Hall is benefiting from a nationwide shortage of pharmacists, which has prompted fierce competition between employers for new pharmacy graduates.
"Pretty much everyone in my class has people calling them left and right about jobs," said Hall, a University of Missouri-Kansas City student from Poplar Bluff. "I've had several people calling me and I don't even graduate until May."
The shortage of pharmacists, though, is not good for others in the medical field, or their patients, say those who have been watching the shortage worsen over the last decade.
It was fueled by several factors, especially changes in insurance policies and federal regulations of pharmaceuticals, which made drugs available to more people.
Add to that an aging population and more drugs being manufactured and advertised to the public, and the number of prescriptions has increased from 2 billion to 3.2 billion in the last decade. That problem is expected to worsen after the new Medicare prescription drug program begins Jan. 1, pharmacy officials said.
Independent and chain pharmacies, hospitals and nursing homes are scrambling to find people to fill orders.
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores reported about 5,950 full- and part-time openings in July in its 37,000 member stores. The American Hospital Association reported a 7.4 percent vacancy rate for pharmacists as of December, 2004, with 38 percent of its members saying it was harder to recruit pharmacists last year than in 2003.
The National Community Pharmacists Association, which represents independent pharmacies, does not keep track of job openings.
A consortium of pharmacy groups called the Pharmacy Manpower Project issued a report in 2002 predicting 157,000 unfilled pharmacy openings by 2020.
The need to fill all those new prescriptions has been partially addressed by an increase in technology and the use of pharmacy technicians, said Dr. David Knapp, dean of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland.
But that hasn't addressed increasing pressure on pharmacists to become more involved in helping patients manage their drugs, especially elderly patients who may take several medicines, said Knapp, who coordinated the conference that released the Manpower report.
"Every hour of every day, dozens if not hundreds of prescriptions are coming across the counter," he said. "They are trying to do that while at the same time counseling patients, calling physicians, helping diabetic patients manage eight or 10 medicines, teaching parents how to help their child use his new asthma inhaler. It's a real stressed out situation for pharmacists."
Around the country, universities are opening new pharmacy schools or expanding existing programs, but it likely will take years for supply to meet demand. Some schools have reported 10 applicants for every pharmacy opening, although that figure includes people applying to more than one school, Maine said.
"It is a great job market for those who get in," Maine said. "But we also have a lot of disappointed people who are being turned away."
Many universities have opened satellite programs, and about 20 new pharmacy schools have opened in the last five years, Knapp said. That should increase the number of graduating pharmacists to more than 10,000 in 2007, compared to about 8,000 graduates in 2003-04, Maine said.
"There is such an astonishing interest," said Lucinda L. Maine, executive vice president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy in Alexandria, Va. "It's the highest level I've seen in my 30 years in pharmacy admissions."
But even new schools and expansions will not help in the short-term, which raises concerns about whether patients will get the information they need about their medications, said Robert Piepho, dean of the Missouri-Kansas City pharmacy school.
"If patients don't have access (to pharmacists), they run the risk of adverse effects from drug interactions."
Pharmacy requires even more education now than it used to. Like many professions, the education requirements have been raised. I have heard from a couple of pharmacists that it's not a particularly gratifying profession, either. Any FReeper pharmacists care to weigh in?
Correct me on this, someone, but it's hard to see why the education requirement is so stringent if all you're doing is dispensing drugs, as opposed to compounding them from scratch. It would be like needing a degree in biology to count out eight chicken nuggets and put them in a box.
Once again government is raising the price of health care.
From pharmacists I've talked to:
As you mentioned increased education.
It's extremely stressful, juggling dispensing drugs, phone calls, and talking to patients.
Crummy hours now that pharmacies have gone to 24 hour cycle, you might work 3rd shift, you'll probably work weekends.
Busy, but boring.
Pharmacies are understaffed, you'll usually not find 2 pharmacists working at a busy pharmacy during one shift. The company will hire one pharmacist and put pharmacy techs on to assist (thus saving money, improving profit margins...similar to one RN on a floor in a hospital with aides and LPNs to assist.)
Now that pay has increased (starting pay used to be in the 50,000 range), you may see more kids entering the profession, but the stresses of the job will be the same unless pharmacies decide to double up and put a couple pharmacists on each shift.
The WSJ a few months ago had a profile of two guys (brothers-in-law, I believe). One was a doctor. He worked long hours, struggled with tons of red tape and regulation, saw many patients, and earned $150,000. Good money, certainly, but not fabulous. The other guy was a dentist. He worked short hours, had little red tape, had a friendly family-oriented practice, and earned $300,000. He said, "Dentistry is a great career. I always tell people to have their kids go into it. But, as soon as the government decides to do to me what they did to general medical, the good times will disappear."
Supply and demand...about 5 years ago there was a slew of articles about the big drug chains gobbling up the mom & pop neighborood drugstores, and how pharmacists had terrible hours, and LOW pay, and felt like grocery clerks..
Not a pharmacist but the Des Moines Register had an article about this subject today and the starting salary is around 86k for some grads. One regional grocery/drug store chain gives students loans with the agreement thay will be forgivable if the student works at one of their pharmacies.
"Concerning the shortage, I think the explosion chain drug stores are the real problem here."
I think you nailed the problem which they didn't mention in the article. The increasing numbers of chain drug stores located on about every major intersection are the reason. Of course, the wouldn't build these drug stores if the quantity of prescriptions weren't increasing. Having a drug store on every corner menas you need more pharamcists.
I have a cuz in pharm school and she is very bright. The study load is intense.
I think it's more than counting pills. I believe they too are responsible that whatever perscriptions you are on do not mix badly together. Patients can sue their doctor and their pharmacist!
Why do we need so many pharmacists? Like Tom Cruise says all you need is excercise and vitamins.
My wife is trying to get into pharmacy school right now (U of F). They have a distance learning center in the Tampa Bay area where we live and we attended their open house two evening ago. U of F, in the last few yeaars have more students in distance learning programs than at the main campus. All the lectures are steaming video on the internat and ar available 24/7 to students. I looked at the coursework and it is very intense. A tech counts pills. The pharmacist is a health care provider and has to know how every drug works, what drugs can work in place of other drugs and how drugs interact with each other. That is a huge matrix of information to have to know off the top of your head. On top of that, they have to know all the government and insurance regulations and have patient consultations.
She wants to avoid the chain stores and work in a hospital pharmacy. Also, the corner drug store pharmacists still do compound medication, too.
how pharmacists had terrible hours, and LOW pay, and felt like grocery clerks..
What a bunch of whiners. I wouldn't mind having a job that starts out at 80,000$ a yrs. Probably better that doctor hours.
Of course, this doesn't bother feminists and liberal democrats (e.g. Blagojevich of Illinois) who want to force pharmacists to provide abortifacients and "morning after" pills against their conscience.
>>>Correct me on this, someone, but it's hard to see why the education requirement is so stringent if all you're doing is dispensing drugs, as opposed to compounding them from scratch. It would be like needing a degree in biology to count out eight chicken nuggets and put them in a box.<<<
...or four years of biology, anatomy, physiology, etc., to get a chiropractric degree so you can pop backs and necks for a living.
My brother was a pharmacist (now is deceased). He had his own store, but before he died, he sold the building, but not the business, as it had dwindled due to the local hospital closing. He lived in a small town.
He often told of how many prescriptions people were taking and the dangers of drug interactions. It was not unusual for him to call a physician and discuss the prescription relative to other drugs. Most often the physician would be appreciative of the reminders of drug interaction, but occasionally a doctor would huff and puff and insist that the prescription be filled exactly as ordered (despite adverse possible outcomes). So pharmacists are dealing with life and death drugs, and sometimes inflated egos with physicians, plus a growing elderly population which needs to be educated in how to take the drugs.
We're not going to let just anybody be a quack.
>>>We're not going to let just anybody be a quack.<<<
Quack? Nonsense. Chiropractors perform a good service. But physical therapists could perform it just a well, with far less training. The push to make chriropractors appear as "legitimate doctors" has expanded their educational requirements far beyond what is needed or necessary.
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