Are there too many pharmacists? A recent article in published in drug topics asked. Drug topics however was not the first time they ask the question as they point to at least two other articles that basically ask the same question. But if you go in search on the web, there are different forums that have also brought up the question of too many Pharmacist for available jobs.
The two articles referenced in the Drug topic article above are:
• Job Market Shifting for Pharmacy School Grads
• Report: Supply of pharmacists outnumbers jobs
As far back as 2013, the question was asked in the following article: Pharmacy schools turning out too many grads. In the 2000’s the treat of not having enough pharmacists set things in motion for more pharmacy schools and for more graduates. From 1987 to 2012, the number of accredited pharmacy schools in the United States grew from 72 to 128 and existing schools expanded their class sizes. It was estimated that in 2013, Pharmacy schools were turning over 13,000 Doctor of pharmacy graduates.
As predictions of the future of pharmacy over estimated the demand for pharmacist, is one of the reasons why. Maybe is he hopeful nature of pharmacy to see a bright future grow faster than the market was ready to do. As the predicted jobs did not materialized more articles came out regarding the deemed future for new graduates: The Pharmacy School Bubble Is About to Burst
The article accurate pointed out the increased cost of higher education and the high debt amount new graduates have after graduation. For these new graduates, the thought that they may not be able to find the promised jobs was a big problem, the article pointed out. In an article in 2015 Jason Poquette asked
Are there too many pharmacy schools? His conclusion was it depends who you asked but with more schools slated to open that year the real answer was yes. He did point out that it depended in the are of the country you were, he North Easter was already over saturated but other parts still had need for pharmacist.
HRSA work force prediction for Pharmacist:
KEY FINDINGS Between 2012 and 2025:
The pharmacist supply is projected to grow by 35 percent. The demand for pharmacists is projected to grow by 16 percent. Published in 2014.
While looking at all these articles and predictions, can leave prospective pharmacy students to question if pharmacy is right for them. The saturation and demand are not the same across the different types of pharmacy jobs as pointed out in the Drug topic article mention above. While Walgreens is no longer opening new store every 17 hours; there has been expansion in other areas of pharmacy. More specialized jobs and expanding roles of clinical pharmacists, research and even hospital pharmacists. It is also true that perceptions of over saturation of the profession depends on where you live.
The expanded roles of clinical pharmacist are requiring more specialized training such as residency and certification from BPS. Not all new graduates pursue these qualifications, nor want to pursue these jobs with expanded training and responsibilities. It is also true that the future of pharmacy is promising more involvement for pharmacy in the Health care team, in research, in drug safety, in policy and many more other areas. As little as eight years ago my position as an ambulatory care pharmacists did not exist in my organization and now the Pharmacotherpy department has more than 10 pharmacists and three technicians all working in ambulatory care.
