Pharmacist shortage?

[MountainPharmD]

Pharmacist shortages are affecting the pharmacy industry

With pharmacists in short supply, bonuses are being offered in order to address the ongoing pharmacist shortage, according to a Fox News report.

drugstorenews.com

I’ve been under the impression there was an over supply of pharmacist due to all the new pharmacy schools opening.
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This article quotes a professor and student at Roseman University wherever that is. Is this just propaganda from a desperate new pharmacy school trying to fill classes? Or, are there plenty of pharmacists just a shortage of ones that will work at horrible places like CVS and Walgreens?

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[JustFillIt]

Roseman is in Utah - their class size is huge (compared to the state population and the existing schools) and they opened their doors about 10 years ago if I remember right.

As I was watching this article - I felt myself become dumber. There is certainly no shortage. And citing certain circumstances where “sign on bonuses” are present is not an indicator of a supply issue l. What has happened is the following:

- the older generation of pharmacists have been squeezed out of the market due to the impossibility of them being able to participate. They simply can not keep up with the overwhelming demands that the current retail environment puts on them physically and mentally.

- pharmacists all over the country are simply leaving retail pharmacy because it has simply gotten so bad. The working conditions have deteriorated to the point that only a small percentage is even able to execute the job at this point. They would rather do anything than participate in the circus that has become retail pharmacy.

- the true shortage is in the technicians. No one in their right mind is seeking tech work as a long term career anymore due to the horrible conditions. This muddies the waters for the public and they would lump pharmacists into that cause they don’t know any better.

- these “sign in bonuses” have nothing to do with a shortage of pharmacists. They exist only because no one wants the jobs and the higher ups in the industry will not change their ways. It is cheaper to lure someone in with this sign on bonus, achieve some level of stability for a while, fire them within their contract time - and then withhold the money and do it again.

Just look at the expressions on the faces of the two that were in this video. They were a couple of goof balls that are serving their own agenda - which is advertisement. My guess is that this was a paid advertisement that is structured to look like a newscast. These “newscast advertisements” are very common these days.

This article and newscast should be seen as nothing more than a paid advertisement to serve the purpose of meeting a recruitment goal in order to generate revenue. It’s like watching the guy selling you the contraption that chops vegetables - and he is going to add a free gift at the end.

I guarantee something right now - if retail suddenly went back to the way it was in 2010, and wages were adjusted to current inflation. there would be a mass exodus of pharmacists trying to get back into retail and the jobs would be practically impossible to land.

 

[JustFillIt]

For ANYONE under the delusion that there is a shortage of pharmacists out there…. Or for anyone who thought that “Fox News video was encouraging. Vince from ShamWow has a message for you:




Or - check out Anthony Sullivan with, “The Edge of Glory”

 

[alpha12]

I don't believe there is a shortage of pharmacists. I could believe there may be a shortage of pharamacists willing to work in a pharmacy. Many have seen the writing on the wall and moved on to other things.

 

[grizzlesgrizzlies]

“At Roseman University we are a three-year accelerated program. Pharmacists graduate with a doctorate degree. There are four-year and three-year programs. They don’t all require a bachelor’s degree. You can go from high school to becoming a pharmacist in five years,” Oswald said.

Going in for that hard sell at the end

 

[JustFillIt]

“At Roseman University we are a three-year accelerated program. Pharmacists graduate with a doctorate degree. There are four-year and three-year programs. They don’t all require a bachelor’s degree. You can go from high school to becoming a pharmacist in five years,” Oswald said.

Going in for that hard sell at the end

Exactly - Roseman paid for airtime on Fox News to sell their school. There is nothing more to it than that. If you listen to the AM radio long enough you hear it all the time - they will talk about something like they personally use some sort of product, then they switch it over to a sell.

It’s a sales tactic and they are distorting what the “50k sign on bonus” actually means. It means that it’s an absolute dumpster fire and no one wants to touch it. None of us ever though we would get to a point where 50k bonus is not enough to make us feel like it is worth dispensing in that environment. It is not…..

Watch that video and look at the look on his face when they talk about the 50k sign on bonus. I would love to see his face 6 months into working in one of those stores.

And - apparently the guy wants “to help people”. Just stop…. We need to just stop pretending that this is real…. Helping people would be great - but we are not in the position to truly help people anymore. That has been decidedly taken away from us in the effort to generate more revenue, and it’s not likely coming back.

 

[VA77]

“At Roseman University we are a three-year accelerated program. Pharmacists graduate with a doctorate degree. There are four-year and three-year programs. They don’t all require a bachelor’s degree. You can go from high school to becoming a pharmacist in five years,” Oswald said.

Going in for that hard sell at the end

Going from high school to a doctoral degree in 5 years is a mockery of higher education.

 

[alpha12]

They made a mistake doing this on Fox News. I doubt a bunch of trumpers would be interested in giving Covid vaccines.

 

[DH1987]

In my area, most Walgreens decreased their hours of operation, and they are dividing my shifts between 4 different stores. Several pharmacists left for hospital jobs. It doesn't seem to add up, though...in my opinion, something else is happening behind the scenes. I'm thinking about the possibility that they simply don't want to rehire people, possibly due to PBMs squeezing every dollar they can...

 

[RxPreceptor]

Maybe young naïve people are finally realizing & understanding that pharmacy is not a get rich quick scheme. Working conditions in retail becoming more hellish every year...you know finally becoming apparent the pay doesn't compensate for overwhelming stress

Couldn't agree with this statement more:

And - apparently the guy wants “to help people”. Just stop…. We need to just stop pretending that this is real…. Helping people would be great - but we are not in the position to truly help people anymore. That has been decidedly taken away from us in the effort to generate more revenue, and it’s not likely coming back.

 

[BidingMyTime]

There is a shortage of pharmacists, like there is a shortage of nurses. Looking at the number of licenses, there is a huge surplus, no shortage. But there is a shortage of pharmacists (and nurses) willing to work at the majority of jobs available. Many pharmacists (and nurses) would rather work at a non-healthcare job, or stay home and raise their kids, or sell DoTerra.

 

[trynapassdamjpe]

I am new to living in the land of Kroger. I was in one tonight where the pharmacy closed at 7 pm! I did a survey of Kroger stores nearby and found this one has unusually short hours but others are only open until 8 pm. Is this how Kroger has always been? I have seen ads for pharmacists at Kroger, so not sure if this is due to pharmacist shortage (considering applying myself.)

 

[Chrish]

No more shortage. It was transient when we were doing Covid vaccines and lot of people were on a leave.

Now people don’t get paid leave and number of shots have gone down.

 

[APN-59 rph]

Just an FYI...I was up at the cottage last week..outside a small town say 10k....Has a WAG's about 8-10 years old...also a Grocery store pharmacy.....It was a Sunday Grocery pharmacy closed...no surprise...the surprise was that Wags was open but the pharmacy in back was closed all Sunday including drive up...Also made a significant cut in pharmacy hours thru the week...The merchandise aisles were deserted. Turned to the wife and predicted that WAGS will be closed in a year...Maybe an outlier? Hoping for a hopping tourist season? Anyone else notice this trend?

 

[Olivia D]

Yeah, really a shortage of pharmacists, I had also noticed personally.