Pharmacy

[TopAtar]

There’s been talk about how pharmacy is a dead industry in Australia, and that pharmacist salaries are dropping due to the redundant amount of pharmacists. I was wondering is all this true? If so, to what extent?
I’m asking because i'm interested in doing pharmacy at RMIT and want to know what my career prospects are going to be like.

[sluu001]

Actually demand for pharmacists is still healthy in regional australia plus western aus (both for pbvious reasons). So if you do not mind travelling, graduate employment is not that tough. However, if you are seeking employment in metropolitan areas, you will then be competing with both monash and latrobe for ever dwindeling positions on offer to fresh graduates.

Having said that, if you gain relevant industry experience before you graduate then your chance p employment increases exponentially. I used to work at a pharmacy and all my friends (Who were pharmacy students at the time) had jobs lined up before they even graduated. Finding a pharamacy willing to take on student is the tough part.

[slothpomba]

Actually demand for pharmacists is still healthy in regional australia plus western aus (both for pbvious reasons).

Theres a reason why there is a lack of demand for those jobs though. Moving to the sticks quite clearly isn't for everyone. If its for him, then thats awesome but its obvious just from the need, that a lot of people dont want to do it (sadly).

However, if you are seeking employment in metropolitan areas, you will then be competing with both monash and latrobe for ever dwindeling positions on offer to fresh graduates.

Dont forget RMIT opened their pharmacy school this year or last. So, add that into the already massive glut (oversupply) of pharmacy graduates irresponsibly pumped out by the uni's.

Obviously, its not like everyone who graduates doesn't get a job. A fair few people do get a job. It's just that the market has a much bigger oversupply of pharmacists than other professions, not to mention the influence of the big-box mega-pharmacys on creating a race to the bottom for the average worker to be able to sell perfume and jelly beans at low low prices.

[abeybaby]

My mums a pharmacist, the industry is being killed by the government, and chemist warehouse. Highly advis you to reconsider other options..

[slothpomba]

My mums a pharmacist, the industry is being killed by the government, and chemist warehouse. Highly advis you to reconsider other options..

What did the government do? First of all the chief blame by far lies with the universities and a lack of government regulation on the amount of students they churn out. If the universities didn't churn out an irresponsibly large number of students, we wouldn't be in this whole mess.

I don't know if chemist warehouse is necessarily to blame either. They're a cause perhaps but i don't know if they're at fault. You can't hold back things to preserve a few jobs, thats one of the reasons blacksmiths or  farriers barely exist anymore. There were probably too many pharmacies to begin with. Plus, most of the time the pharmacist is just dispensing scripts and occasionally handing out advice. If you look through history their role was much much bigger than it is now. I see it just as things adjusting themselves with the whole chemist warehouse thing.

[Tomw2]

You can't hold back things to preserve a few jobs, thats one of the reasons blacksmiths or  farriers barely exist anymore. There were probably too many pharmacies to begin with. Plus, most of the time the pharmacist is just dispensing scripts and occasionally handing out advice. If you look through history their role was much much bigger than it is now. I see it just as things adjusting themselves with the whole chemist warehouse thing.

Couldn't agree more.

Additionally, with the exception of clinical hospital pharmacy, much of the profession is redundant as a result of how pharmaceuticals are produced and regulated, and how legally defensible pharmacy is practised. Much of community pharmacy could be practised by a dispensary tech.

Pharmacists are not remunerated for the use of most of their skills. They are qualified to give an array of health advice, but the payment for this is the margin they make on products they sell to their patients customers. Extensive medication counselling- which is arguably the most important role of a pharmacist - is almost never remunerated. The minimal legal requirement for dispensing advice is on a computer screen. Seems redundant and undervalued to me. I suspect the legislated monopoly they have on pharmacy ownership is pretty much the only thing keeping the profession alive outside of hospitals.

The Pharmacy Guilds were also moronic for not moving with the times. As they gradually became more focused on the retail aspect of pharmacy, they failed to take action to enable the profession to adapt.

For instance, the highest expert authority on drug use, evaluation and prescribing is a medical (physician) specialist called a Clinical Pharmacologist. Just as a maxillofacial surgeon needs both medical and dental degrees, I think there could be a strong argument for clinical pharmacologists to have both medical and pharmacy degrees. Missed opportunity if you ask me :S

[TopAtar]

Wow, more confusing then I thought
In a nutshell, is doing pharmacy as wise endeavour? Given the fact I wouldn’t mind working overseas.
Also, does anyone have an idea of how much a pharmacist graduate salary is?
thanks

[Tomw2]

In a nutshell, is doing pharmacy as wise endeavour? Given the fact I wouldn’t mind working overseas.
Also, does anyone have an idea of how much a pharmacist graduate salary is?
thanks

It comes down to the individual, not any generalisation or anecdote offered by others. Your expectations, interests and aspirations should ultimately inform your decision. The question is, what kind of first-hand experience do you have with what pharmacists in different roles actually do?

A friend of mine in Melbourne loves her job as a clinical pharmacist in a major hospital here. She often talks about how awesome her day was and how interesting and challenging her job is. Similarly, my local pharmacist is very satisfied with his work - he recognises there are some issues with the industry, but loves what he does and is very good at it.

That said - and this is purely anecdotal - there seems to be more and more discontent amongst pharmacists and universally it appears it is quite difficult to secure full-time roles past internship.

[abeybaby]

Since medication is subsidized by government, the government has influence. It has been steadily cutting subsidies for several years. Chemist warehouse buys in ridiculous bulk so that independent pharmacies cannot compete. At all. Their retail prices are lower than my mums cost price. You can't won't be able to own a pharmacy in about 10 years. The government doesn't issue authority numbers any
more because there are too many which means there are no new pharmacies (except in regional areas).  It also means once a pharmacy closes (because it will go out of business from chemist warehouse), it cannot reopen. There also regulations regarding relocation. You can relocate with 2 kms with no restriction, but any further requires there to e no pharmacy within 5kms (I think it's 5, I can't quite remember). The award rate or a pharmacis is now just over $24/hr. I wouldn't come near it

[TopAtar]

Thanks again people!
I was just wondering what about industrial pharmacy. Anyone have an idea what it's like
         =>graduate salary, job prospects, type of work involded etc..

[Tomw2]

Industrial roles are even more elusive than hospital roles. The roles vary and can include things like sales/marketing, clinical trials, corporate communications and legal.

Pay is approximately the same as hospital pharmacy, depending on experience.