Why are pharmacists pushovers?

[1ive2die]

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Ok I know what you're thinking, but this is not a troll post.

I'm a Canadian and hopefully will be a pharmacy student soon. This past year I've been doing a lot of reading up on pharmacy, especially here on SDN. Now this might just be me but I've found that no matter where pharmacists work, whether it is the U.S., Canada, UK, or Australia, they always face a threat to their profession but they are never able to mount an adequate response.

In the U.S. it's the opening of too many schools and creating a glut of pharmacists with poor job opportunities. In Canada, it's the government always making cuts to pharmacy and lowering reimbursement. I've been doing some reading on the situation in Australia and they face the same problems as the U.S., with too many schools pumping out too many graduates.

What I don't understand is why is it always pharmacy? Other health professionals are able to better protect their professions, especially in the eyes of the public but pharmacists always seem to get attacked and they never fight back.

At first when I noticed the issue, I thought it was just a Canadian problem, where Pharmacists are simply not organized enough to fight back when the government decides to make cuts to save money but after reading numerous threads on SDN and other websites I've found that this is a problem around the world.

So what makes Pharmacists such pushovers? Is it an inherent quality of the profession? Is it just the type of people that the profession attracts? Or is it something else?

Again, I mean no disrespect. I want to be a pharmacist and I want to be an advocate for the the profession and that's why its so important for me to understand this issue.

 

[deleted205891]

The problem exists for other health professions as well. Nurses and physical therapists have a hard time finding jobs. I heard optometrists are as well. There are even more MD and DO schools opening (though, admittedly not to the same extent as pharmacy schools).

I agree, however, that a solution must be found. But since the US is a capitalist country where the government does not interfere in business, who holds the power to slow down the opening of new schools? If you find the answer to this, please share it with the relevant decisionmakers.

 

[owlegrad]

I agree with bacillus.

It is hard for one organization to represent all pharmacists as the field is pretty diverse. Plus collectively it doesn't seem that most pharmacists care to organize, so that hurts us. But ALL professions have their challenges. You have heard of declining reimbursement rates for medicaid patients, right? And nurses have a fantastic collective bargaining power (perhaps the best of any professional group?) and trust me, they have many of the same problems as pharmacy - too many new schools, too few jobs, and they are suffering some staggering degree inflation right now.

My point is pharmacy is just like any other profession - we all suffer essentially the same problems. If you know a practical way to prevent new schools from opening, by all means please share it. For the love of God please do not mention ACPE.

 

[Its Z]

This isn't about Pharmacy.

It's about Money, Power, & Greed. This is disseminated throughout the entire fabric of our society, worldwide.

Lock Thread.

 

[Ackj]

I agree with bacillus.

It is hard for one organization to represent all pharmacists as the field is pretty diverse. Plus collectively it doesn't seem that most pharmacists care to organize, so that hurts us. But ALL professions have their challenges. You have heard of declining reimbursement rates for medicaid patients, right? And nurses have a fantastic collective bargaining power (perhaps the best of any professional group?) and trust me, they have many of the same problems as pharmacy - too many new schools, too few jobs, and they are suffering some staggering degree inflation right now.

My point is pharmacy is just like any other profession - we all suffer essentially the same problems. If you know a practical way to prevent new schools from opening, by all means please share it. For the love of God please do not mention ACPE.

Degree inflation is hitting pretty much everyone. In the past you could easily get a good job in a factory, machine shop, etc with a high school diploma. Now with most manufacturing jobs outsourced, more people are going to college, so now everybody and their dog has a bachelors degree.

 

[joetrisman]

...so now everybody and their dog has a bachelors degree.

Mine sits in the closet collecting dust

 

[30Percent]

Pharmacy has it worst than physicians. Even if physician's pay are going lower they can still easily find a job.