Pharmacists shortages begin to ease in state

Declining and stagnant application rates for degrees in the pharmaceutical industry have caused a nationwide shortage of qualified pharmacists. While Nevada feels a pinch, it's not as tight as some other states.

A mid-2005 survey by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation found that chain pharmacies had nearly 6,000 unfilled jobs, 5,000 of them full-time positions.

Statewide, Nevada's rating in the survey fell between "some shortage" and "about right." The state and the industry as a whole faced staffing problems for a number of reasons.

Before 2003, Nevada students were forced to go out of state for their education and many of them didn't return home after graduation. As a result, a large percentage of pharmacists working in the state weren't born and raised here.

To lure new workers, many of Nevada's retail pharmaceutical outlets must entice pharmacists with lucrative bonus signings.

"We don't see any significant shortages as a chain," says Tiffani Bruce, spokesperson for the Walgreen Co., "but in some places we certainly have more need than others, and in certain markets we do offer extra incentives to get candidates there."

The University of Southern Nevada opened its college of pharmacy in 2003, and has since graduated 322 students and many of those recent grads are staying home.

Jason Roth, the school's director of marketing, says an exit poll of 122 graduating students from the class of 2005-'06 showed that 62 percent had accepted positions in Nevada. USN currently has 406 students enrolled in its college of pharmacy, Roth says.

Louis Ling, general counsel for the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy, a state regulator of more than 1,900 pharmacists and 517 pharmacies, says the accredited university program in Nevada helps curb the state's shortage of qualified pharmacists and offers a way for those with local roots to stay here.

"Before that pharmacies had to work pretty hard to recruit people, and there is still an awful lot of bonus money out there to get people to work in Nevada," he says.

Shortages pose a host of problems for consumers. Increased vacancies mean longer hours and larger workloads for pharmacists, increasing the likelihood of errors. Staffing shortages also may mean restrictions in service such as less time for patient counseling.

Compounding the problem is an unprecedented demand for prescriptions to be filled, especially in the retail sector where fast-growing chains have opened dozens of new pharmacies with expanded hours.

"With Las Vegas growing as fast as it is and building new pharmacies to serve those people coming in, they are always looking for new pharmacists," Ling says. "The students at USN get an opportunity to work right here in Nevada as a practical piece of their education as interns. They get to see what practicing in Las Vegas is all about, and now we have people (graduating from a Nevada school) who have actually worked in the community."

Ling says the state board also made it easy for foreign pharmacists, such as those in Canada, to receive accreditation in Nevada in order to help fill vacancies.

"Their accrediting body is equal to the U.S., so Canadian students can apply here and not be treated as foreign graduates," he says. "We are prompt in trying to get people licensed. A lot of people in foreign countries are recruited to work here, and we try to make that process as quick and easy as possible. We try to be sensitive to fact that there is a need in a growing state like Nevada."

Liz MacMenamin, director of government affairs for the Retail Association of Nevada, says that although USN's College of Pharmacy has helped the state, it hasn't provided the total solution.

"There is just not enough people being graduated out of the university systems at this time," she says. "It is a very difficult program to begin with. You are educated as much as a doctor, with a really heavy science background. Do we open up another school? There is still no guarantee students will stay in Nevada, and the way the state has grown in last 10 years, it is important to keep pharmacies staffed."

Another contributing factor is livability. Nevada's remote rural areas aren't a hot draw for a young college graduate. Still, the state fares better than other geographical regions.

"We have been drawing more than we are losing," Ling says. "If you look at the Midwest, they have been getting pummeled. It's a wonder they can even keep pharmacies open."

"In many rural areas the retail section offers nice bonuses, but you have to be dedicated and really want to work in a rural environment," adds MacMenamin.