Pharmacists launching a job search, whether it be for their first job or a change in location or career path, need to be aware of the trends in pharmacy staffing today to navigate the constantly evolving job market. Furthermore, guidance on how candidates should position themselves in the best possible way for a quick job offer is invaluable in the job search. Here are some tips, trends, and suggestions to consider.
WHERE DID ALL THE JOBS GO? Over the past year or so, the pharmacy job market has turned 180° from a candidate- …show more content…
“Pharmacists in the community setting are reaching out. The business models are changing,” says Jim Bartling, PharmD, associate dean for Student Affairs & Admissions, Mercer University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. “For instance, Walgreens is offering a wellness division, offering apothecary-type pharmacy.”
Traditionally, pharmacists are reimbursed for the prescriptions they fill, but mechanisms are becoming available to pay for clinical services. Dr. Bartling reports that there are now ways to get reimbursed for services like diabetes management and medication therapy management (MTM). Additionally, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 makes provisions for reimbursement of clinical services for Medicare participants. And the new health care reform act, officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, recognizes the importance of MTM with several grant and pilot …show more content…
Like health care in general, the aging population will have repercussions for the pharmacy field. Clinical pharmacists will be in greater demand to care for geriatric patients. Partnerships between pharmacies and assisted living and long-term care facilities will become more common.
The pharmacist population is also aging. The 2009 National Pharmacist Workforce Survey reports that more than 37% of pharmacists were over the age of 55 in 2009, as compared with nearly 31% in 2004 and almost 22% in 2000. While some pharmacists will delay retirement because the recession and accompanying stock market downturn negatively impacted their retirement portfolios, in the long term, retiring pharmacists will have an impact on the pharmacist labor pool.
FLEXIBLE CAREERS Careers in pharmacy offer a tremendous amount of flexibility. This is especially a boon to the many women in pharmacy, who are more likely to work a modified schedule than men. Pharmacists wishing to supplement their income can also take advantage of nontraditional work