State faces shortage of pharmacists

With an aging population and longer life spans, Wisconsin hospitals are facing shortages of pharmacists, physical therapists, radiologic technologies, physicians and registered nurses.
Those are the five most difficult positions to fill in health care, according to a new report by the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA).
A sharp increase in the utilization of prescription drugs and more pharmacists retiring than joining the field are fueling a severe shortage of pharmacists in the state, the report stated. The WHA cited a soaring demand for pharmacists in retail outlets and the fact that utilization of prescription drugs increased 71 percent from 1994-2005.
"In Wisconsin, hospitals are reporting that finding a pharmacist is their most challenging recruitment issue, a problem that will not be solved without increasing the number of pharmacists graduated in Wisconsin. Admissions to Wisconsin's only pharmacy school have remained flat since 2001, a situation that is forcing Wisconsin hospitals to spend up to a year recruiting nationwide for out-of-state graduates to meet the growing demand for pharmacists," the report stated.
"Many hospitals employ a relatively small number of pharmacists, so even a single vacancy can create a crisis in coverage. As key members of the patient care team in hospitals, a vacancy can mean limiting hours of access or delays in obtaining medications," according to Judy Warmuth, WHA's vice president of workforce and the author of the report.
With fewer students choosing nursing, graduation rates were not keeping pace with hospitals' need for nurses, the WHA reported. While nursing school enrollments have risen dramatically, the number of graduates has grown more slowly for two reasons: it is taking students longer to graduate; and some students who enter a program fail to complete it.
"The average nurse working in a Wisconsin hospital is 47 years old. We need to prepare for the fact that soon we could see a large number of nurses retire at about the same time. The nursing schools have done an extraordinary job expanding their programs and promoting nursing as a career that should help avert a nursing shortage crisis similar to those that are already hitting other parts of the country," said Warmuth. "For now, we can say our nursing vacancy rates are low in Wisconsin, but we certainly can't say we won't see shortages in the near future."
The state also has acute shortages of physicians in rural and inner city hospitals, according to the report.
The full WHA report can be found at www.wha.org/workForce/pdf/2006workforce_october.pdf.

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