Why is pharmacy declining?

[JDunc]

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So I am relatively new here. I am not considering pharmacy school as I am a graduate student pursuing a M.S. and PhD. My sister-in-law has actually been accepted to pharmacy school. I personally have gone through this forum looking for some good advice to give her but it seems the best advice is to not go to pharmacy school. What is it that has brought the admissions criteria as low as they are? Is pharmacy really so saturated that she will have difficulty finding work? Granted she may be better off than some as my brother is a medical student working on becoming a general surgeon. So while debt will be there at least he will be bringing in a hefty income.


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[vanessalix]

A lot of new schools have opened up with lower admissions criteria, which has really diluted the quality of pharmacists overall. I think if she got into a reputable pharmacy school and is generally a smart/ambitious person, she will do fine.

 

[JDunc]

A lot of new schools have opened up with lower admissions criteria, which has really diluted the quality of pharmacists overall. I think if she got into a reputable pharmacy school and is generally a smart/ambitious person, she will do fine.

I don't know much about pharmacy schools but she will be attending as an IS student at the University of Oklahoma.


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[PharmtoCS]

It is because the number of slots for pharmacy students has doubled in the last 10-15 years, yet more of them continue to open each year. With mergers and acquisitions (CVS + Target, Walgreens + Rite-Aid) and the lack of reimbursements for MTM and provider status, the BLS projects growth of pharmacists to be 3% over the next 10 years. That is roughly 9100 new jobs over the next 10 years. During this time, roughly 150,000 students will have graduated from pharmacy schools and that is assuming no new schools open.

Those who once considered pharmacy a high-paying, high prestige career have moved onto greener pastures, i.e. medicine, dentistry, and PA, as well as other fields outside of healthcare such as finance, engineering, computer programming, etc. that often pay just as well in gross salary if not more than pharmacy, have job prospects that are better than for pharmacy, have work environments far better than pharmacy (especially retail), and most importantly of all do not require to take out an additional $200k+ in loans and spend an additional 4 years in school.

In summary, the cause for the declining admission standards are two-fold: 1) too many pharmacy schools leads to an oversupply of seats, and 2) prospective students choosing alternative careers (mainly the ones I listed above) due to the poor job prospects and student loans leading to decreased demand of pharmacy school seats. Pharmacy schools are hungry for profit, and to maximize that, some schools will take just about anyone regardless of GPA or PCAT as long as they're willing to sign away $200k+ in loans.

 

[JDunc]

It is because the number of slots for pharmacy students has doubled in the last 10-15 years, yet more of them continue to open each year. With mergers and acquisitions (CVS + Target, Walgreens + Rite-Aid) and the lack of reimbursements for MTM and provider status, the BLS projects growth of pharmacists to be 3% over the next 10 years. That is roughly 9100 new jobs over the next 10 years. During this time, roughly 150,000 students will have graduated from pharmacy schools and that is assuming no new schools open.

Those who once considered pharmacy a high-paying, high prestige career have moved onto greener pastures, i.e. medicine, dentistry, and PA, as well as other fields outside of healthcare such as finance, engineering, computer programming, etc. that often pay just as well in gross salary if not more than pharmacy, have job prospects that are better than for pharmacy, have work environments far better than pharmacy (especially retail), and most importantly of all do not require to take out an additional $200k+ in loans and spend an additional 4 years in school.

In summary, the cause for the declining admission standards are two-fold: 1) too many pharmacy schools leads to greater supply of seats, and 2) prospective students choosing alternative careers (mainly the ones I listed above) due to the poor job prospects and student loans.

Thanks! It is a sad ordeal. Wouldn't a lowering of admissions criteria result in a large amount of pharmacists who may not be suitable for filling prescriptions?

How is the University of Oklahoma as a pharmacy school?


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[OmiPharmD]

Thanks! It is a sad ordeal. Wouldn't a lowering of admissions criteria result in a large amount of pharmacists who may not be suitable for filling prescriptions?

How is the University of Oklahoma as a pharmacy school?


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It's been around forever. I would not be concerned about the quality of education. Solid NAPLEX pass rate.

 

[jokersmiles]

Pharmacy is declining because of decreasing competition for admission due to increasing class size and number of schools.
Competitive applicants with strong stats realize that pharmacy is going nowhere but down and are applying to more competitive programs (medicine/dentist/veterinarian)
Rising tuition causes more debt for a profession that already has a lower salary than other doctorates.
Pharmacy schools accept everyone, usually those that pursue pharmacy couldn't get into medical school.
While other professional programs require a bachelors, most pharmacy schools do not.
GPA and PCAT scores are very low on average for admission.
Extracurricular activity requirements to be considered competitive is minimal.
All of these and more has made admission into pharmacy school easy
Which has caused the surplus of pharmacists and saturation.

 

[musicplease]

pretty much what everyone else here has already said

pharmacy is not worth it anymore, at least not for the next 20 years.
If your sister in law has a 3.6 gpa or above then she should apply to different programs and avoid pharmacy at all costs.

 

[owlbright]

Do not make the same mistake as we did.

 

[hello lady!]

Go to medical school! Do not make the same mistake as we did.

Arent you pre-pharmacy? What mistake did you make?