Pharmacy needs to set realistic expectations for the future in the minds of students, according to Pharmacy Guild president Kos Sclavos.
NSW Health’s Pharmacy Workforce study revealed an imbalance in the number of pharmacists in areas across the state, with less than 14 per 100,000 in Blacktown, compared with more than 123 per 100,000 in Sydney’s upper north shore.
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Speaking to Pharmacy eNews about the study, Mr Sclavos said pharmacy schools had a responsibility to the industry as well as the universities to address the problems facing pharmacy.
He added, while lucrative for the universities, overseas students where taking up intern places and in some cases leaving the country and reducing the number of qualified pharmacists available to fill positions in areas where pharmacists were required.
“I think you need to give these young kids realistic expectations, so the first problem is with the intern year, how are all these pharmacists going to get the intern year placements they need?
“International students, in some cases want intern places, so they’re taking up room and yet some of these students leave and don’t come back to Australia, [which is a problem] but it’s very lucrative for the universities to have international students.
“But their responsibilities should go beyond the universities, in terms of their placement in the intern year,” he said.
The NSW Health report highlighted the shortage of pharmacists in places outside Sydney’s upper and lower north shore and the inner west, particularly in Blacktown, Dubbo and Orange.
“This is the same problem everywhere [across Australia]. The perception among urban pharmacists is there’s an oversupply, but at last count there were about 400 jobs available, they just don’t happen to be in the city locations.
“You could talk to a pharmacist today in Dubbo or Orange and some of these guys haven’t had a decent holiday [in years], because they can’t afford to, they haven’t got pharmacists who can come in,” Mr Sclavos said.
