I just attended a state pharmacy association annual meeting… one of the presentations was from the three current deans from the three college of pharmacies – one just accepted its first class.
One Dean stated that they were suppose to pull back from 130 graduates a year to ~ 100 …BUT… thanks to a large grant from LILLY… they have been able to expand their facilities and can retain graduating 130 students/yr..
The Dean of the new school stated that in the early planning stages.. they thought that were going to have to use a 40,000 sq ft existing building and renovate and “make do”..BUT.. thanks to a large grant from LILLY .. they were able to build a brand new 80,000 state of the art bldg for this new pharmacy school…
It was also stated by one of the Deans that within a couple of years.. the number of graduate Pharmacists in the region – all the states that bounded this particular state – would INCREASE 50%..
The two Deans of the existing school indicated that the number of 2012 graduates that did not have a job or had not “made a decision” by graduation .. was in the low teens .. as a per-cent of those that graduated.
One common theme was that academia was “looking out” ONE- TWO DECADES as to what Pharmacists “may be doing” and targeting the education process to that vision…
It was also mentioned that there are still 3-4 new schools of pharmacy which are seeking accreditation to admit their first class.
Here is a posting I pulled from a LinkedIn forum that was posted with in the last week
Seasoned pharmacist with over 20 years experience in retail and hospital, seeking position in xxxxxxxx area. Going nutty sitting at home!
and I see these type of posting more and more regularly … especially those that are mid 40’s y/o +
Filed under: General Problems
We just hired a new graduate where I work. We could only give him 40 hours (part-time). He is thankful just to have a JOB! It is an employer’s market now for sure.
The market is saturated with pharmacists! I am tired of hearing new schools of pharmacy opening up. The schools just want the money. With the recession, I have seen so many experienced pharmacists without work. I recently had a graduated licensed pharmacist call me saying she could not find a job. She graduated in May! There is nothing available for these new grads and anyone that leaves their current pharmacy of employment. We need to regulate this.