Present:
Approximate number of graduates every year from the schools of pharmacy in California as of 2011:
Loma Linda 85
Touro 100
Skaggs (UCSD) 60
UCSF 122
USC 190
UOP 100
Western 120
Total 777
Future:
Add California Northstate with its first class in 2012 and the four additional schools slated to open in the near future and the number of new pharmacists graduating will easily exceed 1000 every year!
The burning question is whether an already well saturated job market can accommodate this large (and still growing) influx of new pharmacists...
Friday, December 16, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
List of Pharmacy Schools in California
Here is a list of schools I have found. The situation is worse than I thought since it seems everytime I check online or speak to a colleague I find out about another school that is opening or about to open.
Pharmacy Schools in California:
•Loma Linda University – School of Pharmacy, Loma Linda, CA
•Touro University – College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, CA
•University of California San Diego – Skaggs School of Pharmacy, La Jolla, CA
•University of California San Francisco – School of Pharmacy, San Francisco, CA
•University of Southern California – School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles, CA
•University of the Pacific – School of Pharmacy, Stockton, California
•Western University of Health Sciences – College of Pharmacy, Pomona, CA
•California Northstate College of Pharmacy, Rancho Cordova, CA
Projected Pharmacy Schools in California:
•West Coast University (WCU), North Hollywood, CA
The new school of pharmacy will be based on WCU’s North Hollywood campus in Los Angeles, California. It is expected that an inaugural class of 65 will enroll in the Fall Term of 2013.
•The AUHS School of Pharmacy, Signal Hill, CA
Scheduled for year 2012 with Bachelors of Science in Pharmaceutical Science (BSPS), and the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D.) program.
•Samuel Merritt College, Oakland, CA
http://www.samuelmerritt.edu
•Central California School of Pharmacy, Fresno, CA
That is 12 and counting!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
A Reason for Concern...
I have created this blog to voice my concern about the future of the profession of pharmacy. I practice in California but I have noticed that this issue is relevant in most states across the country. I have been working in pharmacies now for over 15 years. There was a shortage of pharmacists since I was an intern in the late 1990s and it continued for over ten years. This lack of manpower was the root cause of a major overreaction to accredit numerous new pharmacy schools to meet the demand. The number of schools in California has already doubled from four to at least eight. My concern is that there are more slated to open in the future. The number of students graduating has now overloaded the job market to where new graduates are having serious difficulties in finding employment. Some of these aforementioned schools still have not produced a graduating class and thereby the situation is already likely to worsen without the addition of new schools to the mix. I understand the economic state of the country has a part in the employment woes of pharmacists but on the other hand pharmacy is not as heavily affected by the economy as other fields. It is my conclusion that we all need to make our voices heard so that no additional pharmacy schools are opened at this time. It is in the best interest of all pharmacists, current and future, to take a stand to prevent this from occurring. My only regret is that we may be acting after some damage has been done. I was hoping a healthy balance would be achieved but it has quickly gone from a shortage to an overabundance of pharmacists. It is not too late though, so join me...
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