Career choices of Pharmacy and Pharm D undergraduates: attitudes and preferences

Abstract

Background The remarkably increasing number of graduated pharmacists necessitates exploring the current Pharmacy and Pharm D students’ future career choices in order to help the health policy makers to enhance effective health and education workforce planning. Objective To identify Pharmacy and Pharm D undergraduates’ attitudes and preferences toward different career choices and the factors that influence their career choice. Methods Across sectional study using the online survey web Question Pro was conducted on undergraduate Pharmacy and Pharm D students through the fall semester of the academic year 2019/2020 at four Colleges of Pharmacy in Jordan. In addition to demographics, the survey evaluated students’ attitudes toward different career choices, career choices preferences and how different factors could influence this choice. Mann Whitney U test, Chi-square test, Friedman test, Wilcoxon and Multivariable linear regression were applied to analyze the data. Results A total of 354 undergraduate Pharmacy and Pharm D students completed the survey. Medical coverage and insurance was the most important variable affecting the students' career choice. The total sample favorite career choice was Academic and Research Centers (mean = 2.57), followed by Pharmaceutical companies (mean = 2.38), Hospital Pharmacy (mean = 2.36), Industry (mean = 1.79), and lastly Retail or Community Pharmacy (mean = 1.78). Males were significantly more tended to have a higher favorability scores for the Pharmaceutical Companies career choice than females. PharmD students had a significantly more favorable attitudes towards Hospital Pharmacy than Pharmacy students, who had a significantly more favorable attitude towards Retail or Community Pharmacy and Industry than Pharm D students. Conclusion The current study provides baseline data necessary to formulate strategies in the educational institutions by incorporating different programs and lectures to expand the capabilities of pharmacy students to meet the requirements of different market sectors and change their mindset about the different pharmacy sectors.

Career Preference and Factors Influencing Career Choice among Undergraduate Pharmacy Students at University of Khartoum, Sudan

“…The study revealed that medical sales representative was an undesirable career domain, as it was chosen by only 3.2% of respondents. This finding contradicts the studies conducted in Jordan and Iraq [14,29], in which participants ranked medical representatives among the top-three preferred future career domains. Globally, most pharmaceutical companies allocate a relatively high budget for employing and training medical representatives; pharmaceutical product promotion and marketing expenditure is higher than research and development expenditure [33].…”

“…Results of this study highlighted the high female-to-male ratio (86%:14%). This finding is similar to those in many studies conducted among pharmacy students in Jordan [8,14]. Saudi Arabia [15], and Malaysia [16,17].…”

“…The second most preferred career domain was academia and research (11.8%), which differs from the results of Ethiopian [25] and South African [13] studies, where academia and research attracted 16% and 9.2% of respondents, respectively. Our findings, on the other hand, partially agree with those of studies conducted in Jordan [14], Saudi Arabia [15], and Australia [26], where academia and research are the most popular career paths. The main motivators toward academia and research include favorable opportunities for professional development, the chance to shape the future of pharmacy, the autonomy of the positions, and the flexible working environment.…”

Experience with pharmacy academic programmes and career aspirations of pharmacy students and young pharmacists-an international cross-sectional study

“…Similar to what was reported in the literature, pharmacy was not always the first choice for studying for pharmacy students [ 13 – 16 ]. However, unlike previous studies, in this study, the majority, almost 70%, reported that pharmacy was their preferred field of study.…”

Pharma 4.0: analysis on core competence and digital levelling implementation in pharmaceutical industry in Indonesia

“…Based on the literature review and confirming competencies through the Delphi method, the findings indicate that digital skills are the most prioritized skill. The capabilities involve a basic ability to process information and communication technology (ICT) ( Jarab et al., 2021 ; Wuri Handayani et al., 2018 ). ICT is at the core of rapid change in the economy and is the foundation for innovation.…”