Prestige and financial stability: motivating factors to pursue a doctor of pharmacy degree

Abstract

Objective This study aims to identify factors influencing students’ decision to pursue a doctorate in pharmacy (PharmD). Methods Focus-group interviews and quantitative surveys were used in sequence to investigate pharmacy students’ motivations. A total of 36 current PharmD students from two US colleges of pharmacy participated in five focus groups. The resulting qualitative findings, along with existing literature, informed the development of a survey questionnaire, which was then administered to two cohorts of first-year pharmacy students at one of the participating colleges. Key findings Identified themes include prestige of a doctorate, patient interaction, career versatility, and pharmacy school’s lower intensity vis-à-vis medical school. A total of 110 first-year pharmacy students from a 4-year program (average (SD) age 23 (5); 65% female) completed the survey (98.5% response rate). The order of factors that respondents ranked as important or somewhat important for choosing pharmacy include: financial stability (n = 107 (97%)), prestige of a doctorate degree ((n = 97 (88%)), good work-life balance ((n = 96 (87%)), the opportunity to use critical thinking skills ((n = 93 (85%)), having patient interaction and communication ((n = 91 (83%)), and being in a profession or service ((n = 91 (83%)). Conclusions US PharmD students are mainly drawn by job and financial stability, prestige of a doctorate, and a good work-life balance.

Factors Affecting the Decision of First-Year Pharmacy Students to Study Pharmacy in Can Tho, Vietnam

“…These include long-term job stability, steady income, available employment opportunities after graduation, and high social demand for pharmacy professionals, as found in this study and previous similar studies (Beggs et al, 2008; Digital Works Rowan Digital Works Theses & Edmonds, 2012; Hanna et al, 2016). In the current context, stable employment and income play a crucial role in ensuring individual and societal stability and sustainable development and are among the reasons contributing to students’ career choices (El-Hammadi, 2013; Hasan et al, 2010; Osmond et al, 2023; Wüst & Leko Šimić, 2017). Although the salary of Pharmacy professionals varies greatly worldwide and across different job positions (Hanna et al, 2016), pharmacy work provides a stable income, as reported in a US study (Anderson et al, 2008).…”