The pharmacy school is seen at the University of Mississippi Tuesday, March 17, 2015. (DM Photo | Payton Teffner)
The number of pharmacy schools across the U.S. has grown from 72 in 1987 to over 130 today. This growth means a changing job market for many pharmacy students, but The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy has yet to be affected.
Stephanie Sollis, a second year student in the professional program and pharmacy student body president-elect, has seen an increase in enrollment.
“I know that some of our previous classes had anywhere from 40 to 60 students,” Sollis said. “Over the last three years, our classes have increased in size to about 90, 120 and 150, respectively.”
According to a 2010 discussion paper prepared by the American Pharmacists Association and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the increased number of schools was due to a shortage of pharmacists, but this issue seems to be going in the reverse. The paper, titled “Concerns about the Accelerating Expansion of Pharmacy Education: Time for Reconsideration,” explained that “the shortage is rapidly abating, and in fact, the profession is likely entering a period of surplus.”
While this issue has far-reaching effects, Dr. David Gregory, School of Pharmacy associate dean for academic affairs, has yet to observe any at The University of Mississippi.
“So far, the growth of pharmacy schools has not had a detectable impact at the UMSOP, although this is an issue which we are very aware of and consistently follow,” Gregory said. “The job placement rate continues to be high with all graduates generally finding jobs within 30 to 60 days of graduation.”
Sollis believes this is the main reason enrollment at The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy continues to grown despite the influx of pharmacy schools.
“I think that the growth is because of the high rankings of the pharmacy school (in multiple areas) on a national level, fantastic faculty and staff, great recruitment efforts and dedicated students,” Sollis said.
Such students, like Christian Robinson from Stone Mountain, Georgia, have no concern about the changing job market.
“There are tons of different career routes that a pharmacist can take such as retail, nuclear pharmacy, pediatric pharmacy, etc.,” said Robinson, a first year pharmacy student. “So, there are still plenty of job opportunities out there for graduating pharmacists, and I believe that will continue to grow.”
Gregory also believes the job possibilities will continue to grow in the future despite the possibility of a surplus in pharmacists.
“The changing responsibilities of the pharmacists continues to create new jobs for the healthcare marketplace, and this is an exciting time for pharmacists to enter the profession,” Gregory said.
New jobs will be necessary to accommodate what the American Pharmacists Association and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’s 2010 discussion paper projects to be 12,000 pharmacy school graduates in the year 2030. However, Gregory believes this will not dilute the quality of jobs received by Ole Miss School of Pharmacy graduates.
“An encouraging fact is that pharmacists at the UMSOP are being trained in an advanced manner to be pharmacy providers and accountable for medication care,” Gregory said. “This training will allow them to practice at the ‘top of their licensure’ and obviously, prepares them for the best jobs in the market.”
