Waking up the state of the workforce: Addressing the pharmacist workforce shortage

Pharmacy workforce shortages have become a pressing issue in healthcare systems worldwide, posing significant challenges to patient care delivery, medication safety, and overall healthcare quality. According to data from the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), there has been a notable decline in the number of applications to pharmacy schools, with the number decreasing by 15.8% between 2020 and 2022. Moreover, since 2012, which marked the peak of 17,617 applications, a substantial drop in applications by 25.7% has been noted.1 In addition to the decline in applicants, pharmacy school enrollment has also decreased at a similar rate (39.9%) since 2012. The number of graduating pharmacists declined by 11.4% from 2021 to 2023.2,3 In the 2022 National Survey of Pharmacy Practice in Hhospital Settings conducted by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), 62.4% of hospitals that participated in the survey reported having inpatient pharmacist turnover in the last year; the most common reason cited for pharmacist attrition was taking another health-system position (71.5%), followed by retirement (45.6%).4 According to the executive vice president and CEO of AACP, pharmacy schools are expected to graduate between 3,000 and 4,000 too few pharmacists during the next 5 to 6 years, potentially leaving thousands of jobs unfilled.5