Report explores how motivations influence pharmacy career commitment, overall job satisfaction

Academic performance and level of career commitment as an undergraduate are important predictors of who subsequently enters the profession and for commitment in practice says the final report from the Longitudinal Cohort Study of Pharmacy Careers published today by the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (the Trust).

Unpacking early career pharmacists' participation in, and commitment to, the pharmacy labour market explores the extent to which motivations to study pharmacy and early career choices influence career commitment and overall job satisfaction when in practice.  The analysis considers two elements;

1.   the extent to which it is possible to predict which British pharmacy students register to practice in Gt Britain; and

2.  the relationships between current and anticipated workforce participation and early career choices along with relationships between career commitment and early career choices.

An overview of results showed that:

• Background factors such as gender and ethnicity and academic performance at pharmacy school were found to be significantly associated with RPSGB registration
• Having a preference to work in the community on entry to pharmacy school significantly predicted subsequent employment in that sector     
• The pharmacists studied were significantly more likely to intend to leave the profession if they had below average career commitment as students or had considered dropping out of the MPharm.  Other factors included gender or ethnicity or making a late decision to study pharmacy.
• Background factors such as being female and white and having high levels of career commitment as students were found to predict higher levels of commitment to the profession amongst practitioners.
• Career commitment changed at each career stage; on average it was highest when the participants were third year students and lowest when in practice.
• White pharmacists and those who had not considered dropping out of their course were significantly more like to derive satisfaction from their work
• Perceptions of work overload are significantly higher amongst female pharmacists and are also generally higher among those who had lower levels of career decidedness
• Significantly fewer minority ethnic (ME) than white participating pharmacists rated their experiences of their current job as offering career opportunities

Commenting on the final report and the study as a whole, Catherine Duggan, Director of Professional Development and Support for the Professional Leadership Body said:    

 "Understanding the motivations behind the career choices pharmacists make and the aspirations of the profession provides the PLB with the blueprint for meaningful professional development and support for pharmacists to develop and advance for the benefit of patients and the public".

Sarah Willis, Research Fellow and main author of the report said:  "An implication of these findings, given that academic performance as an undergraduate is an important predictor of who subsequently enters the profession, is that it raises a question about the extent to which academically less able students should be allowed to progress within an MPharm.  Our results suggest that they are also less likely to pass the registration exam and hence also less likely to enter the profession for which they have trained. Overall, this study will improve the profession's understanding of its workforce during their early careers."                                                                                                                                      

Commissioned by the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust, the five year longitudinal study of the early career choices and pathways of pharmacists who graduated from British pharmacy schools in 2006 was undertaken by the Centre for Pharmacy Workforce Studies (CPWS) at the University of Manchester in the UK.

Beth Allen, Acting Director of the Trust said: "This study, which was commissioned by the Trust and funded by the RPSGB, illustrates the value of making a long term investment in profession centric research that informs policy. This study has, and will continue to have, an impact on undergraduate pharmacy education, workforce planning and professional development and support. The Trustees, together with the research team, will continue to raise awareness of the implications of these important findings amongst leaders of the profession to action demonstrable change for pharmacists."