Pharmacist Participation in the Workforce: 1990, 2000, and 2004
Pharmacist Participation in the Workforce: 1990, 2000, and 2004
Objective: To examine work variables for licensed pharmacists for 1990, 2000, and 2004.
Design: Three cross-sectional, descriptive studies.
Setting: United States.
Participants: Licensed pharmacists: 1,623 in 1990; 2,092 in 2000; and 1,564 in 2004. These numbers of usable responses to the three respective surveys represented 54.0%, 42.7%, and 33.8% of those receiving surveys.
Intervention: Mailed survey from the 2004 National Pharmacist Workforce Survey; data from the national studies of the pharmacist workforce conducted in 1990 and 2000.
Main Outcome Measures: Characteristics of pharmacists; work setting, work position and age distribution of actively practicing pharmacists. Work status of licensed pharmacists; proportion actively practicing pharmacy. Proportion of pharmacists working part-time overall and by age group, weekly hours worked by actively practicing pharmacists, and full-time equivalents (FTEs) by age group. Proportion of pharmacists with secondary pharmacy employment; work setting, hours worked, and weeks worked in secondary pharmacy employment.
Results: In each year studied, more than 86% of licensed pharmacists were actively practicing pharmacy. In 2004, the largest proportion of actively practicing women pharmacists was between the ages of 31 and 45, and the largest proportion of actively practicing men pharmacists was between the ages of 46 and 60. Across the survey years, the proportion of all actively practicing pharmacists working part-time increased, and the proportion of women working part-time was at least double that of men except in 2004. In 2004, the FTE contribution for women was 0.81 and 0.91 for men.
Conclusion: The decrease in FTE contributions by all pharmacists and the aging of the male pharmacist population raise concerns about the adequacy of current and future pharmacist supply. As the demand for pharmacists continues to evolve, pharmacy must continue to monitor the pharmacist workforce to show how pharmacists react to changes to better inform projections of the pharmacist workforce.
The demand for pharmacists is derived from the demand for the goods and services that pharmacists produce. Demand for pharmacists also is influenced by the use of technology and support personnel that can serve as substitutes for pharmacists and/or increase productivity in the performance of certain job functions. The balance between supply and demand is influenced by the supply or number of pharmacists available to work and the extent to which pharmacists participate in the workforce.
Several variables related to the demand for pharmacists changed between 1990 and 2004. The number of prescriptions dispensed in community practice settings (independent, chain, supermarket, mass merchandiser, mail service) increased from fewer than 2 billion in 1990 to 3.3 billion in 2004, a more than 50% increase. Between 2000 and 2003, substitutes for pharmacists increased; dispensing technology improved, and in general, states allowed increased technician-to-pharmacist staffing ratios, and these have promoted use of more pharmacy technicians.
Countering the increased demand for pharmacists was an increase in the number of pharmacy schools and graduates from pharmacy schools. Also, beginning in 2002, all graduates from pharmacy schools earned doctor of pharmacy degrees. In 1990, a total of 6,956 student pharmacists earned their first professional pharmacy degree, and this number peaked at 8,158 in 2004. The number of pharmacy schools grew from 74 in 1990 to 89 in 2003. Despite the increased growth of pharmacy schools and new pharmacists, a shortage was estimated for 1998, and this situation continues despite slight improvement in the level of severity of the shortage between January 2000 and June 2003.
Given these changes in the supply of and demand for pharmacists, it is important to examine how pharmacists have reacted to the changes. Characteristics of pharmacists and their work provide insights into whether they are participating in the workforce as pharmacists or not (i.e., work status) and how much pharmacists work (full time versus part time, and in secondary employment). Labor economic theory suggests that characteristics of workers (e.g., age, gender, work position), economic factors, and characteristics of employers (e.g., work setting) influence whether a person works and the amount each person works (e.g., number of hours worked). Examining trends in characteristics of pharmacists and their work may better inform us of how pharmacists react to changes in demand and provide insights into future trends in the pharmacy workforce.
As in previous studies of the pharmacist workforce, we examine trends in characteristics of pharmacists and their work for men and women separately. Since 1985, women have comprised the majority of pharmacy school graduates. This has important implications for the pharmacy workforce since research shows that women work less than men, are more likely to work part-time, and are more likely to move in and out of the workforce.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Objective: To examine work variables for licensed pharmacists for 1990, 2000, and 2004.
Design: Three cross-sectional, descriptive studies.
Setting: United States.
Participants: Licensed pharmacists: 1,623 in 1990; 2,092 in 2000; and 1,564 in 2004. These numbers of usable responses to the three respective surveys represented 54.0%, 42.7%, and 33.8% of those receiving surveys.
Intervention: Mailed survey from the 2004 National Pharmacist Workforce Survey; data from the national studies of the pharmacist workforce conducted in 1990 and 2000.
Main Outcome Measures: Characteristics of pharmacists; work setting, work position and age distribution of actively practicing pharmacists. Work status of licensed pharmacists; proportion actively practicing pharmacy. Proportion of pharmacists working part-time overall and by age group, weekly hours worked by actively practicing pharmacists, and full-time equivalents (FTEs) by age group. Proportion of pharmacists with secondary pharmacy employment; work setting, hours worked, and weeks worked in secondary pharmacy employment.
Results: In each year studied, more than 86% of licensed pharmacists were actively practicing pharmacy. In 2004, the largest proportion of actively practicing women pharmacists was between the ages of 31 and 45, and the largest proportion of actively practicing men pharmacists was between the ages of 46 and 60. Across the survey years, the proportion of all actively practicing pharmacists working part-time increased, and the proportion of women working part-time was at least double that of men except in 2004. In 2004, the FTE contribution for women was 0.81 and 0.91 for men.
Conclusion: The decrease in FTE contributions by all pharmacists and the aging of the male pharmacist population raise concerns about the adequacy of current and future pharmacist supply. As the demand for pharmacists continues to evolve, pharmacy must continue to monitor the pharmacist workforce to show how pharmacists react to changes to better inform projections of the pharmacist workforce.
Introduction
The demand for pharmacists is derived from the demand for the goods and services that pharmacists produce. Demand for pharmacists also is influenced by the use of technology and support personnel that can serve as substitutes for pharmacists and/or increase productivity in the performance of certain job functions. The balance between supply and demand is influenced by the supply or number of pharmacists available to work and the extent to which pharmacists participate in the workforce.
Several variables related to the demand for pharmacists changed between 1990 and 2004. The number of prescriptions dispensed in community practice settings (independent, chain, supermarket, mass merchandiser, mail service) increased from fewer than 2 billion in 1990 to 3.3 billion in 2004, a more than 50% increase. Between 2000 and 2003, substitutes for pharmacists increased; dispensing technology improved, and in general, states allowed increased technician-to-pharmacist staffing ratios, and these have promoted use of more pharmacy technicians.
Countering the increased demand for pharmacists was an increase in the number of pharmacy schools and graduates from pharmacy schools. Also, beginning in 2002, all graduates from pharmacy schools earned doctor of pharmacy degrees. In 1990, a total of 6,956 student pharmacists earned their first professional pharmacy degree, and this number peaked at 8,158 in 2004. The number of pharmacy schools grew from 74 in 1990 to 89 in 2003. Despite the increased growth of pharmacy schools and new pharmacists, a shortage was estimated for 1998, and this situation continues despite slight improvement in the level of severity of the shortage between January 2000 and June 2003.
Given these changes in the supply of and demand for pharmacists, it is important to examine how pharmacists have reacted to the changes. Characteristics of pharmacists and their work provide insights into whether they are participating in the workforce as pharmacists or not (i.e., work status) and how much pharmacists work (full time versus part time, and in secondary employment). Labor economic theory suggests that characteristics of workers (e.g., age, gender, work position), economic factors, and characteristics of employers (e.g., work setting) influence whether a person works and the amount each person works (e.g., number of hours worked). Examining trends in characteristics of pharmacists and their work may better inform us of how pharmacists react to changes in demand and provide insights into future trends in the pharmacy workforce.
As in previous studies of the pharmacist workforce, we examine trends in characteristics of pharmacists and their work for men and women separately. Since 1985, women have comprised the majority of pharmacy school graduates. This has important implications for the pharmacy workforce since research shows that women work less than men, are more likely to work part-time, and are more likely to move in and out of the workforce.
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