Healthy prospects
Opportunities for pharmacy school grads
Miriam Raftery
Nationally, a shortage of 157,000 pharmacists is projected by 2020, according to a report by Pharmacy Manpower Project, Inc. The shortage is particularly acute in some California regions.
“As you get out to more rural areas of Northern California, you just don’t have pharmacists graduating and moving into those places,” says Gerald Mazzucca, president of the California Pharmacists Association.
California currently has seven pharmacy schools. To help remedy the shortage of pharmacists, California Northstate College of Pharmacy plans to open in fall 2008 in Rancho Cordova, near Sacramento. The school is now accepting applications and undergoing accreditation review.
“Sacramento is a prime location for a pharmacy school,” said President Alvin Cheung in a Nov. 9, 2007 Sacramento Business Journal article. “Legislation and other initiatives impacting health care take place right here in town. The large collection of top-notch medical facilities makes it an ideal training ground for medical and health care professionals.” The school aims to become top in research and development, he added.
Touro University in Vallejo also added a pharmacy program and will graduate its first class in June 2009. Other Northern California schools offering pharmacy degrees are the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and University of the Pacific in Stockton (UOP).
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, “Employment of pharmacists is expected to grow faster than average for all occupations through the year 2014 because of the increasing demand for pharmaceuticals, particularly from the growing elderly population.” Other factors include scientific advances making more new medications available, new developments in genome research and drug distribution systems, increased coverage of prescription drugs by Medicare and private insurers and more consumers seeking information about their medications.
Drug Topics magazine reports the median annual income for pharmacists reached $94,927 nationally in 2006, which is up dramatically from $64,980 in 1999. California is one of the highest paid markets for pharmacists, with incomes of more than $100,000 per year. “It’s one of the top jobs recommended in terms of need,” Mazzucca says.
To earn higher salaries, however, students must meet more stringent educational requirements than in the past. “The trend in pharmacists’ education has been to increase the amount of clinical knowledge that the student pharmacist must have when they get out, versus the more traditional emphasis on compounding that was emphasized when I was going to school,” Mazzucca says.
All pharmacy schools nationwide now require completion of a PharmD, or doctor of pharmacy degree. In the past, students could enter pharmacy school straight out of high school. But, Mazzucca says, “Most students now already have a four-year bachelor’s degree in science before they go into the PharmD program, which went from a five- to six-year program in 2000.” If the student doesn’t have a bachelor’s degree, the school’s PharmD program may be longer, he adds.
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Professor David Evans teaching biological science, a required class for PharmD, to students (those paying attention) at Touro University in Vallejo.photo: Gary Goldsmith |
Pharmacists in California may now modify drug therapy in certain situations, under a physician’s protocol. Pharmacists also receive certification in diabetes management, cholesterol monitoring and other disease states. “When they get out, they can actually perform those services and get paid for them,” Mazzucca says. Pharmacists can also obtain certification to administer flu shots to patients. Some pharmacy schools offer courses in natural medicines; pharmacists can consult a Natural Medicines reference volume and computerized databases to advise patients on potential side effects or herb-drug interactions.
With health care costs rising, it’s important for all health care professionals to be utilized to their fullest,” Mazzucca says. “A lot of people are not compliant or don’t take medications properly. Studies are coming out showing pharmacists can save money for healthcare and also reduce sick days for employers.”
A shift from chemistry-based to patient-based pharmacist training began in California in the 1960s. “I was first to train pharmacists in a hospital for a clinical role,” says Paul Lofholm, president-elect of the California Pharmacists Association and adjunct professor at Touro University, UOP and UCSF.
Later, Lofholm began training pharmacy students in his community pharmacy. “We’re trying to give them hands-on practical experience in how to make patients’ lives better through the use of pharmaceuticals,” he says, adding that pharmacists can also save money for the health care system. “Half of all pharmacy dollars are spent in hospitals.”
Hospital pharmacists are also trained to advise physicians and nurses on appropriate uses of drugs in hospital settings. “I applied that same concept to a community setting,” Lofholm says. Community pharmacists can prevent hospitalizations by ensuring that people use medications appropriately at home, he adds.
Students at UCSF spend four years in pharmacy school, with the last year on rotation. UOP students attend school year-round, completing the program in three years instead of four. Some schools, such as UOP, now offer a combined PharmD and MBA (Masters of Business Administration) program.
“My uncle, my dad and my grandpa are pharmacists in Richmond,” says Josh Speck, a pharmacy student at Touro University. “That’s why I went into it.”
Speck enjoys the hands-on nature of his education. “Touro is different from most pharmacy schools,” he says. “You spend two years in the classroom, then it’s two years on rotation.”
Now in his third year, Speck has six-week rotations in a variety of pharmacy settings. Currently, he is working in Lofholm’s independent pharmacy, where he is learning how to compound medicines—making capsules, solutions, eyedrops and more. “Compounding is nice because if someone wants a special flavoring, such as cherry, or a strength not made by the manufacturer, we can make it,” he says. “We can make whatever they want—a cream or an ointment. It’s kind of like the old-school pharmacies.”
Speck consults with patients and offers recommendations on over-the-counter products. “I talk to doctors about correct dosing for patients based on how old they are and their body functions,” he says. “I make sure they know how to take it right.” He is also learning the business aspects of running a pharmacy, such as how to buy at the best prices from wholesalers.
Next, Speck will complete an ambulatory care rotation at Highland Hospital in Oakland. “I will be shadowing pharmacists and medical specialists who specialize in just one thing, such as high blood pressure,” he says. He will also have a rotation in acute care, then choose from electives such as pediatrics, geriatrics or retail management.
Speck recently completed a rotation in another hospital, where he prepared intravenous solutions and went on rounds with medical interns, doctors and a clinical pharmacist. “We’d look at patients and see what’s wrong, then give them a diagnosis,” he says. “An M.D. would turn to me and ask a question. It’s exciting and intimidating at the same time.”
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