Examining Pharmacy Workforce Issues in the US and UK
Examining Pharmacy Workforce Issues in the US and UK
Knapp and Schomer previously stated in the Journal, "Making projections and monitoring data trends are necessary but not sufficient… [we] need to use the projections and data trends as tools to identify and embrace those actions that will lead the profession forward in uncertain times." Worldwide, prudent workforce planning is needed within the profession to ensure a secure future workforce, which is trained and able to meet the demand of the dynamic health care environment. Instrumental to this planning is a better strategic alignment of individual governmental health care policy to the pharmacy profession.
Despite different health care delivery models, pharmacists in the United States and United Kingdom are facing similar rapid expansions within the profession. In the United States, the number of new schools and expanded class sizes has extended beyond the scope of previous estimates. The pharmacist shortage may potentially be ending, yet no major coordinated response strategies are on the horizon. In the United Kingdom, the reality of a future oversupply of pharmacists has been identified and accepted by the profession and the government. Policy efforts are being focused on how to best address the situation, which will undoubtedly require a large scale coordinated effort to keep the profession in balance. The approach in the United Kingdom can serve as an example prompting the need for formal workforce assessment and the planning in the United States.
Conclusion
Knapp and Schomer previously stated in the Journal, "Making projections and monitoring data trends are necessary but not sufficient… [we] need to use the projections and data trends as tools to identify and embrace those actions that will lead the profession forward in uncertain times." Worldwide, prudent workforce planning is needed within the profession to ensure a secure future workforce, which is trained and able to meet the demand of the dynamic health care environment. Instrumental to this planning is a better strategic alignment of individual governmental health care policy to the pharmacy profession.
Despite different health care delivery models, pharmacists in the United States and United Kingdom are facing similar rapid expansions within the profession. In the United States, the number of new schools and expanded class sizes has extended beyond the scope of previous estimates. The pharmacist shortage may potentially be ending, yet no major coordinated response strategies are on the horizon. In the United Kingdom, the reality of a future oversupply of pharmacists has been identified and accepted by the profession and the government. Policy efforts are being focused on how to best address the situation, which will undoubtedly require a large scale coordinated effort to keep the profession in balance. The approach in the United Kingdom can serve as an example prompting the need for formal workforce assessment and the planning in the United States.
