Getting to know the Issues!

[Smieling]

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I wanted to ask all you pharmacist out there! what websites/resources should I visit/use in order to learn more about current issues in the field of pharmacy? I already read a little on my own about pharmaceutical care and healthcare reform.

I'm a Canadian undergraduate student and really interested in what today's issues are in pharmacy !

in addition if there are any interesting antidotes or relevant issues to yourself please feel free to post! I would love to just read and learn.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[fauxden]

One of the biggest issues is the insane number of schools that continue to open, flooding the market with pharmDs.

 

[358265]

One of the biggest issues is the insane number of schools that continue to open, flooding the market with pharmDs.

Heh. Aside from this obvious one, I think another huge issue is the amount of students going into a career in which they have no experience in. This is not just for pharmacy, but I've seen it for pharmacy students where more than half of the class has never stepped foot in a pharmacy (yet they go into it? Hmm...). By P3-P4 year, a lot of students end up with regret and hatred for the field, realizing the current realities of the "real world" has set in. 🙄

 

[rph3664]

Heh. Aside from this obvious one, I think another huge issue is the amount of students going into a career in which they have no experience in. This is not just for pharmacy, but I've seen it for pharmacy students where more than half of the class has never stepped foot in a pharmacy (yet they go into it? Hmm...). By P3-P4 year, a lot of students end up with regret and hatred for the field, realizing the current realities of the "real world" has set in. 🙄

And it seems that an increasing proportion of them graduate with NO work experience of any kind! This is puzzling to me.

 

[SoylentGreen]

And it seems that an increasing proportion of them graduate with NO work experience of any kind! This is puzzling to me.

Bigger class sizes + fewer intern positions = students who don't have the opportunity to intern.

 

[JamesL1585]

I wanted to ask all you pharmacist out there! what websites/resources should I visit/use in order to learn more about current issues in the field of pharmacy? I already read a little on my own about pharmaceutical care and healthcare reform.

I'm a Canadian undergraduate student and really interested in what today's issues are in pharmacy !

in addition if there are any interesting antidotes or relevant issues to yourself please feel free to post! I would love to just read and learn.

Thanks in advance!!!

Smieling, this is great that you asked this question. We need more people like you looking into the profession. See if you can go to your states Pharmacy association, and see if you can get on their mailing list probably. If not just frequently visit pharmacist.com which is the American Pharmacist Associations website they'll talk about pharmacy news often. Specifically here's their "issues" page http://www.pharmacist.com/apha-advocacy-issues.. but note those are the issues they're pushing and may or may be biased based on what their agenda is. For best info on whats going on, continue to visit this site, and also ASHP's website. Good luck to you!

 

[358265]

Bigger class sizes + fewer intern positions = students who don't have the opportunity to intern.

Very valid point. A lot of the schools that I have seen (due to less preceptors being involved) have made it become more of an "annoyance" to take in new students for rotations and possible internships. Why? All because there's just too much of them in the metropolitan areas now. I guess deep inside, as a preceptor and current practitioner, they know that they must "use" the student in some way (e.g., free labor) but don't necessarily have the time to train or give them real input on the actualities of the current market. However, some students love their rotations. I wish there were more of them, though. 😀