Factors That Influence the Career Goals of Pharmacy Students

Abstract

Objectives. To identify pharmacy students' short-and long-term career goals, including projected areas of practice, and evaluate the factors that influence these goals. Methods. A 19-question survey instrument was administered to pharmacy students in each of the 4 professional pharmacy years. The results were analyzed to determine factors influencing students' career goals and to compare choices among the different classes. Results. The most important factor considered by pharmacy students was work environment. Their career goals upon graduation were predominantly in the retail chain setting. However, 5 years after graduation, their projected areas of practice were divided between retail and clinical settings. Conclusions. Specific factors influence pharmacy students' short-and long-term career goals and identifying these factors may provide insights to faculty members in planning the experiential curriculum and assist prospective employers in increasing job retention among new pharmacists and improving their overall job satisfaction.

Influences on Malaysian Pharmacy Students' Career Preferences

“…More than half (50.9%) of respondents in the study by Savage et al chose retail pharmacy as their projected area of practice upon graduation, followed by independent pharmacy (18.6%) and clinical pharmacy (18.3%). 13 This study revealed that job preferences for hospital pharmacy ( p 5 0.001), pharmaceutical industry ( p 5 0.003), community pharmacy ( p 5 0.002), and academia ( p 5 0.026) were significantly different between students from public and private universities.…”

“…15 Savage et al reported that participants rated work environment (97.6%) as the most important factor for job consideration, followed by benefits (94.7%), flexible work schedule (92.9%), salary (84.9%), geographical location (78.1%), and advancement opportunities (66.6%). 13 Carter et al reported that most recently graduated pharmacists working in community and hospital pharmacies cited ''personally rewarding'' as the most important factor in deciding their career. 5 Respondents in our study were shown a list of common areas of practice most relevant to Malaysian pharmacists' roles and asked to rank, in descending order, their preferences of these areas of practice, assuming there was no 4-year mandatory service.…”

“…In a US study, when asked their projected area of practice 5 years after graduation, the percentage of pharmacy students who chose independent retail pharmacy and clinical pharmacy increased. 13 In an Australian study, the decision-making among undergraduate and postgraduate students was influenced by the image of the job created by media.…”

“…Questionnaire items were developed from a detailed review of variables and factors used in previous studies, [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] with the intention of replication where possible to aid in comparison of the results. Items in the first part of the questionnaire collected demographics data.…”

Job Location Decisions of Pharmacy Graduates in British Columbia

“…The few studies existing on pharmacists' career preferences focused on the type of practice (eg, community vs. institutional practice) rather than the type of location. 13,14 The extent to which research findings on recruitment and retention of physicians in rural practice also apply to pharmacists is unknown. Hence, this study was undertaken to examine the job location decision of new pharmacy graduates, and the workplace, community, familial, financial, and recreational factors influencing that decision.…”