Modifying Pharmacy Enrollments by Employment Realities

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this commentary is to consider the fluctuations in pharmacy school enrollments and to review some of the strategies employed in other health care professions as well as to consider policies that might lead to a closer balance between admissions to PharmD programs and employment opportunities. Such a balance provides superior job stability, decreased underemployment, and greater attractiveness to study pharmacy. Findings: Pharmacy school entry requirements and standards have been relaxed to accommodate as many students as possible due to current declining applicant numbers. As a result, there are more pharmacist graduates than there are available jobs each year to the point that the job outlook for pharmacists may continue to go down in the future unless something is done to address the problem. Stricter entry requirements could help produce a higher quality pharmacy workforce in the future and relieve this disparity. Summary: Pharmacy schools try to accommodate as many students as possible creating a job disparity between the number of available jobs and pharmacists seeking work. Suggestions can include stricter entry requirements, a certificate of need-type program, and other means to balance this misalignment.

Keywords

• Pharmacy Enrollment
• Employment
• Supply and Demand