Rising Pharmacy Graduate Numbers A Problem, Australia

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 23 Dec 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Concerns raised by the Australian Medical Association over the lack of funding and resources to adequately train medical students have been echoed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

The AMA this week said that $157 million of Government money was not enough to fund the teaching resources needed to cope with the increase in student numbers which saw 1544 domestic medical students graduate in 2007, an increase of 22 per cent from 2003. This is projected to increase to 2920 graduates by 2012.

Echoing concerns over the ability to adequately train the rising number of pharmacy graduates, the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Warwick Plunkett, said the present outflow of pharmacy graduates from universities annually now required nearly 30 per cent of all pharmacies to place a post-graduate student.

"Without financial subsidy this is impractical and it is unreasonable for the profession to bear the cost without Government assistance," Mr Plunkett said.

"Clearly if this rate continues we just won't be able to train or place these graduates and there will be insufficient pharmacies available for placements, leading to a collapse of the current system, with clear potential implications for patients because the Government is unwilling to assist.

"An area of major concern is that the profession does not have the number of trained preceptors to be able to maintain the standards of training required when this sort of rate is being experienced. This situation is simply not sustainable."

Mr Plunkett said the answer lies in the Government helping the profession take control of graduate numbers and, more importantly, increasing spending on training preceptors who in turn could provide the appropriate training and support for these graduates.

"The pharmacy profession and medical profession are among the few professions which conduct mandatory and stringent training programs. These are essential if we are to maintain competency standards and levels of primary health care in this country," Mr Plunkett said.

"The National Pharmacy Board has recently announced that it will not follow some State Boards and fund preceptors.

"It is therefore incumbent upon the Government to work with the profession to provide similar support to other health professions from the COAG workforce funds to finally get this critical problem for pharmacy solved in order to help patients."

Source
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia

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