Career paths of a university’s pharmacy graduates over 15 years: a cross-sectional evaluation

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The versatility of a pharmacy degree has evolved over time. Expanding opportunities have emerged for employment in sectors outside those usually associated with the degree. A paucity of international literature evaluating pharmacy graduate career paths over an extended period is apparent – research which could enhance workforce capacity planning. Aim To evaluate trends in graduate career paths from a pharmacy school in Ireland over a fifteen-year period and assess graduate satisfaction with their career path and pharmacy programme. Methods This study utilised a multi-method approach to access graduate career data, using an online survey and publicly accessible information from LinkedIn® profiles. The survey, comprising both Likert scale and multiple-choice questions, was distributed to all the university’s pharmacy graduates from 2007 to 2022. Data from both methods were combined, cross-checked, coded, and analysed quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics – whereby p<0.05 denotes statistical significance. Results Data were obtained on 556/798 pharmacy graduates (69.7%), comprising 203 survey responses (25.4% response rate) and 353 LinkedIn profiles. Community pharmacy was the most common current employment sector (47.7%), followed by industry (21.5%), hospital (17.7%), and academia (6.1%). The percentage working in patient-facing settings ranged from 79.5% (2022) to 36.7% (2010). More recent graduates (≤5 years post-graduation) were significantly more likely (p<0.05) to work in a patient-facing role versus those who graduated >5 years ago (Figure 1). Over half of graduates not primarily working in community pharmacy (61.1%) had previously held a full-time community pharmacist role. Post-graduate education was undertaken by 41.3% of graduates, with the lowest uptake amongst community pharmacists (13.7%). Overall, career satisfaction from the survey was high (88.2%) although significantly lower for those in patient-facing (82%) versus non-patient-facing roles (97.5%). Satisfaction with the pharmacy degree programme was high (84.7%). Conclusion While limited to data from one pharmacy school, this study provides the first analysis of graduate career paths over an extended period and highlights the wide-ranging professional possibilities available to graduates. Furthermore, this represents a springboard for additional research to inform pharmacist workforce planning worldwide through career-path evaluation – ultimately aiming to avoid potentially significant implications of shortages in the patient-facing pharmacy workforce.