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Pharmacist Shortage - Prescription for Finding a Job
by Dave Anderton
Deseret Morning News
The Wall Street Journal Sunday
October, 8, 2006
Signing bonuses, new cars and six-figure salaries are just some of the perks new pharmacists are commanding.
The spoils are the result of an ongoing nationwide shortage of pharmacists.
According to the National Pharmacist Workforce Study released earlier this year, 41 percent of all male pharmacists are age 55 or older, nearing retirement.
Laura Seitz, Deseret Morning News
Dr. Tom Metzger lectures to pharmacy students at the South Jordan campus of the University of Southern Nevada on Wednesday.
Adding to the problem are a growing number of male and female pharmacists who prefer to work part-time. More than 30 percent of female pharmacists ages 31-50 are working part time, the report said. Jim Jorgenson, administrative director for pharmacy services at University Health Care and an associate dean for clinical affairs at the University of Utah's College of Pharmacy, said there is about a 6 percent increase in new U.S. pharmacy graduates annually, but a 30 percent increase in demand.
"By 2015, the estimate is that we are going to be over 40,000 pharmacists short nationally, and 157,000 short by 2020," Jorgenson said. "We're actually expecting to fill 7.2 billion prescriptions by 2020."
In Utah, there are 64 pharmacists per 100,000 people, lower than the national ratio of 78 per 100,000, according to Gar Elison, director of the Utah Medical Education Council.
Utah's need for pharmacists has companies like Walgreen Co. offering generous bonuses and scholarships for students.
Laura Seitz, Deseret Morning News
Pharmacy students Jason Christofferson, left, and Keith Page work on a group project in South Jordan.
Chris Scalzitti, pharmacy supervisor for Walgreen in Utah, said pharmacy students in the state who agree to work for Walgreen can receive up to $15,000 while still in school. In addition to the scholarships, Scalzitti said, Walgreen offers an attractive signing bonus.
"We do need more pharmacists," Scalzitti said. "We're always hiring. We can never have too many. Our growth out here for the future is just going to be so high because of the new stores that we constantly open. It just creates a constant need for us."
According to Elison, more than two-thirds of Utah pharmacists earn between $80,000 and $120,000 a year.
"Ten years after graduation, if you're not making $130,000, you're the exception," said Elison, who added that the 2006 typical starting salary for Utah pharmacists was $85,000.
"There's lots of places that are offering two-year leases on either a BMW, a Lexus or a Grand Cherokee," Jorgenson said. "We haven't gone that far. When you look at pharmacists' salaries right now, they are the highest starting salaries for any first-year professionals in any profession."
Emily Williams, 27, of Henderson, Nev., was offered a job at Target before graduating in pharmacy in 2005 from the University of Southern Nevada.
"I actually did not get a signing bonus," Williams said. "But I know here right now they've got bonuses up to $35,000."
Laura Seitz, Deseret Morning News
Construction of the future site of the University of Southern Nevada in South Jordan is under way.
The absence of a signing bonus for Williams was made up in what she described as Target's favorable working environment.
"We don't overwork our pharmacists," Williams said. "A lot of people will put pharmacists in with not enough technician help, and they don't get any lunch breaks, and they just have way too many prescriptions to do all day, every day. It's just a bad working environment."
The growing demand prompted the University of Southern Nevada to open a new pharmacy school in South Jordan. The school admitted its first class of 52 students this fall.
"There is a definite shortage in Utah," said Renee Coffman, dean of the pharmacy college at USN. "The difference between Utah and Nevada was actually pretty striking. Since we've had the school in Nevada we've been able to impact the shortage there. Hopefully, we'll be able to do the same for Utah."
Of the 52 pharmacy students at USN's South Jordan campus, 32 are Utah residents, according to Larry Fannin, USN's Utah campus dean. The university's main campus in Henderson, Nev., admitted 142 people this year.
Yet the shortage of pharmacists is not a result of a lack of interest.
Architectural drawing of the pharmacy classroom for a new building at the USN South Jordan campus. There are 52 pharmacy students enrolled this year, 32 of whom are Utah residents.
"There are people that want to be pharmacists," Fannin said. "The seats are limited. I think we are approaching 1,700 applications. It generally runs from five to eight applications to one seat."
At the U.'s pharmacy school about 50 students are admitted each year out of 400 to 600 applications, Jorgenson said.
Other challenges facing those considering the profession are rigorous course prerequisites, which include chemistry, anatomy, calculus and physiology.
Chad Holley, 31, of Orem, a first year pharmacy student at USN's Utah campus, said the prerequisites are demanding.
"It cost me a marriage," Holley said. "It's a pain in the butt. There's some hard classes that you have to take to get to this point."
And Fannin said the workload faced by many practicing pharmacists is one downside to the profession.
According to the National Pharmacist Workforce Study, 54 percent of all pharmacists reported their workload as "high" or "excessively high." In addition, 58 percent said that their workload had "increased" or "increased greatly" compared to one year ago.
Laura Seitz, Deseret Morning News
Larry D. Fannin, RPh, PharmD chats with students Jamie Hunt, left, and Iryna Sayer in class.
The survey also noted that between 2000 and 2004, the proportion of pharmacists personally dispensing more than 160 prescriptions daily increased from 23 percent to 36 percent.
And for pharmacists employed in health-care settings, work schedules can include night shifts, holidays and weekends.
"People aren't taking jobs based on salaries," Jorgenson said. "They want benefits. They want good working conditions. They want technical support. They want to be able to use what they learned in school, particularly in new kids coming in now. For them, there is a lot of work-life issues that are very important."
And for Curtis Wickwire, 27, of Reno, Nev., a first-year pharmacy student at USN, the high salaries should not be the motivating reason for entering the profession.
"If you're focused just on the money, I really don't think you're going to make it," Wickwire said. "You might be able to make it through school, but you're not going to enjoy your life after that."
- Original Article: Pharmacist Shortage — Prescription for Finding a Job (.pdf 527K)
- Original Article Online: Prescription for Finding A Job Article, DeseretNews.com Business