No More Shortage...

I've been asked by many people, either on the internet, customers, or prospective students if there still is a demand for pharmacists.  When I was applying to schools, I remember people sending me articles of how different pharmacists were receiving ridiculous signing bonuses or even given cars to sign on with the big chains for 1 or 2 years.  Then when it was time for my graduation and my job hunt began, I was offered just 1 signing bonus from a chain to work for them for 1 year.  Now I talk to interns working as techs who are reaching their time and they the time of incentives is pretty much over.  It seems as if that shortage of pharmacists is over.

Personally speaking, I left my job at one chain because of the way I was being treated by the management.  I don't know if it was my district or company wide, but I got fed up of being treated as a robot who eats, sleeps, and talks company propaganda bull.  It took my about 10 months to actually find a full time job as a staff pharmacist.  I was able to make a living by working about 25 to 35 hours a week as a floater for independent pharmacies.

This seems due to the overwhelming increase in the number of pharmacy schools opening.  Every time I look around, there is a college or university now offering pharmacy as one of their majors.  When applying to colleges, everyone applied to a number of schools and always applied to one that was a guaranteed acceptance because they accepted everyone who applied.  These safe schools, or joke schools, are opening up their own pharmacy programs.  We need to treat pharmacy just like medical school is treated; it needs to be difficult to get into.  These graduates are responsible for people's lives.

I also see a trend in the chains that even though we are filling more prescriptions than ever and they are opening up new stores all the time, they somehow are more concerned with cutting hours and taking away overlap to make more profit when pharmacists are dying out there on the bench.  It seems like the highest number of jobs would be as teachers.  And it looks like the only thing that might be good about Obamacare will be the possible increase in pharmacy jobs due to everyone getting healthcare.