GREENSBORO — North Carolina has one of the nation's worst shortages of pharmacists, a professional trade group says.
Because the law requires a pharmacist to be on duty any time a pharmacy is open, the shortage can affect a pharmacy's hours, said Mike James, vice president for government affairs for the Association of Community Pharmacists, which represents independent pharmacies.
The number of pharmacists in North Carolina is growing but cannot keep up with increasing demand.
The Pharmacy Manpower Project tracks demand for and supply of licensed pharmacists on a scale from 1 (demand for licensed pharmacists much less than the supply) to 5 (great difficulty filling open positions). North Carolina, with a rating of 4.57 as of June, trailed only Alabama in its need for pharmacists.
The shortage is no surprise to people in the profession.
"North Carolina has consistently been in the top five in the last four years since I've been here," said Robert A. Blouin, dean of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy.
And it doesn't matter whether you're looking at independent community pharmacies, chain-store pharmacies, teaching jobs or research jobs, Blouin said: "I think it has been pretty much across the board."
As a result, Blouin said, starting salaries for new pharmacists average $88,000 to $92,000, well above the state's median for all jobs. The exact amount can depend on type of job and whether the pharmacist is working in an urban area or a rural area where a lack of pharmacists creates higher demand.
The shortage extends to those who teach future pharmacists. There were more than 400 vacancies among a national market of 5,000 teaching positions in 2006, a report this summer at a meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy said.
"Thirty years ago there were a little over 70 (pharmacy) schools (nationally)," Blouin said. "Today there are 101, and there's a high likelihood that number will grow another 10 to 15 over the next three to five years. All of that will place demands on a relatively limited (teaching) pool."
Jay Campbell, executive director of the N.C. Board of Pharmacy, notes that about a decade ago, the degree required to be licensed as a pharmacist changed from a five-year program to a six-year program, resulting in smaller class sizes.
He also notes that a new pharmacy school at Wingate University, which joins the schools at UNC-CH and Campbell University, will be graduating roughly 70 new pharmacists a year, most of whom are likely to remain in North Carolina. But he's unsure whether that number will help keep up with growing demand.
That demand is driven in part by a growing number of prescriptions as the population ages, said Mike DeAngelo, manager of corporate communications for the drug store chain CVS.
To attract and retain pharmacists, he said, CVS focuses on such internal issues as quality of life and adequate technology and resources. It also focuses on such external issues as developing relationships with pharmacy schools and trying to frame community pharmacy as an attractive career path for students.
Another chain, Walgreens, says it also has had little trouble recruiting in North Carolina, even as it has expanded from 75 stores in 2005 to 110 stores today.
"We're a big chain, so there's a lot of opportunity with Walgreens, a lot of positions," corporate spokeswoman Carol Hively said. "There's the opportunity for advancement or relocation."
But part of the demand for pharmacists also has been increased opportunities in business, particularly pharmaceutical companies, and in institutions such as hospitals, Blouin said.
Moses Cone Health System has had no problem retaining pharmacists, but it has had some trouble recruiting them, spokesman Doug Allred said.
"Many factors influence our ability to recruit, including time of the year, salaries, work schedules and specialization," he said.
"There are many options for pharmacists that (require them to work) no weekends, no holidays and no evenings. Hospitals obviously need support during these times of the day."
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