Pharmacist shortages remain high, survey says
A good pharmacist is still hard to find. Accord-ing to recent data recorded in "The Healthcare Workforce Shortage and Its Implications for America’s Hospitals," the mean vacancy rate for pharmacists is 12.7%. Nineteen percent of hospitals reported severe shortages (more than 20% vacancy rate) of pharmacists.
The survey was faxed to 5,980 hospitals nationwide; it was conducted during late August and early September 2001. Twenty-five phone interviews were conducted with hospital CEOs, nurses, pharmacists, and human resources executives.
A pharmacy director at a prestigious Los Angeles medical center told the researchers that it takes two years to recruit for a night pharmacist. The operations director at another California medical center has been recruiting pharmacists for eight months and has had no applicants.
This report was produced by First Consulting Group for the American Hospital Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Federation of American Hospitals, and the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems. Copies of the report are available on all of these organizations’ web sites.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content