I have just read a survey study on the pharmacy profession and job satisfaction. I think it is important to remember that satisfaction with your job is the number one most important factor in taking and staying at your job. If you are not satisfied with your job you tend to be less productive and make mistakes and as we all know mistakes are unacceptable in general but are really unacceptable when you have peoples lives in your hands. Job satisfaction invariably seems to be tied to the "perceived" pharmacist shortage and I say perceived because I get slammed for saying there is a shortage of pharmacists though we do get our numbers right from uncle Sam and other sources. We are finding in some states and specific areas there is a pharmacist glut in the market for example in New Jersey there seems a population of pharmacists who are starving for work. This can be attributed to the fact that 22 hospitals in the state of New Jersey have closed in the past ten years and the fact that a lot of their pharmacy students tend to stay in state. It is an interesting survey study to read please take the time to read and see if you agree with the conclusions.
To be transported to the survey study please click on the post title.
New Jersey has very limited pharmacist jobs even in retail pharmacy. What happened to the demand? Is this because of the economic downturn? A year ago, there were so many jobs available and it's hard to believe this is happening.
ReplyDeleteI am throughly familiar with all aspects of Pharmacy in NJ. I said two years ago that we are headed to disaster with the greatly increased enrollments in the schools, which was solely for the benefit of the greedy institutions and the chain pharmacies backing them up financially. Most pharmacists were indifferent and claimed that the aging population would increase demand-not so!! The schools, most of whose faculty couldn't last a week in a chain store, touted all the 'consultative roles" that the pharmacists would perform. Guess what? The schools screwed the working pharmacists again! If you think the market is tight now- wait till next Fall and Winter. But there will always be some retail job available in some rural area! When will Pharmacists learn to unite and fight for their own interests? Getting pharmacists as a group to fight for anything is like trying to herd cats!! The Pharmacist shortage is indeed over.
ReplyDeleteThe glut is already here!!
ReplyDeleteThe recruiter for the Rocky Mountain Poison Center tells me that (Aug 11, 2009) 6 months ago a posting for a pharmacist position would generate 3 to 4 applicants. Now he gets 20 to 30 applicants. One hospital position at a major Denver hospital generated 40 applicants, according to the hiring manager (if you’re still interviewing for a pharmacist job, and I’m sure many of you are, just ask how many applicants this year compared to last). Schools continue to open, and class sizes are continually increased. In metro Denver, the number of new grads has gone from 120 four years ago to 170 new students in the state school and 60 more at the new private school. That’s almost twice as many!
Schools generate revenue by making PharmDs. There is no incentive for schools to consider their students’ employment prospects. An east coast recruiter tells me that all major metropolitan areas are totally saturated for hospital pharmacists and he’s now placing only in rural Maine. A major chain that has been opening 500 stores per year is done with that and enhancing services at their extant stores, which does not require additional pharmacists. There still is no viable model for covering expenses for Medication Therapy Management.
With this glut, qualification inflation has set in. A hospital in Denver posted for a pharmacist, accepting only applications for PharmDs and strongly preferring a residency. Many good, experienced RPhs will be locked out. As the engineered glut continues, the “clinical” pharmacists driving pharmacy education will get their wish to have all PharmDs complete residencies. But will residencies be available? And afterwards, will jobs be available? Many pharmacists have postponed retirement, having seen over ½ of their retirement wiped out by the stock market crash.
Approximately 30% of my class could not secure employment as of graduation (Informal survey—representative of class in terms of academic standing, work ethic, desire for immediate employment, internship experience, etc.
BEWARE!
I agree with Autonomous comment, We too are facing same problem here in Sydney, pharmacist jobs is very hard to find....many companies are corrupted...i think sooo
ReplyDeletePharmacist Cvs
**syeds**
I agree with your blog, getting satisfied with the job your working is an important factor that makes a worker stay in that kind of job. Great blog! hope to see more of your studies and blogs! Check out allens pharmacy
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