Abstract
Understanding the role of pharmacists’ job satisfaction is important because a lack of job satisfaction might have negative impacts on patient care and safety. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore and compare job satisfaction among pharmacists graduating from the pharmacy programs at Umeå University, Sweden. Data concerning job satisfaction and associated factors were collected using an alumni survey conducted among pharmacists graduating between 2015 and 2018. Ethical committee approval is not required for this type of study in Sweden. A majority (92.6%) of the pharmacy graduates were female. A majority of the graduates (91.4%) were satisfied with their job most of the time or all of the time, which was similar to a previous investigation among pharmacists graduating between 2006 and 2014. High access to continuous professional development (CPD) was associated with higher job satisfaction (odds ratio (OR): 18.717 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.685–207.871)). In total, 65.6% considered access to CPD to be high (i.e., satisfactory to very good). Variables like gender, age, employee category, workplace, years since graduation, and income did not affect job satisfaction. Knowledge regarding job satisfaction will enable employers to respond to employees’ needs, decrease turnover, and improve the work environment.
Highlights
In Sweden, as in many other countries, the roles of pharmacists have changed over the years.From primarily dispensing medications, pharmacists have become more clinically involved in patient care in different ways in the healthcare system [1]
These changes might have affected pharmacists’ job satisfaction. This is important because performance, motivation, and productivity are factors that are positively linked to job satisfaction, while lack of job satisfaction might affect patient care and safety negatively and increase job turnover [5,6,7,8,9]
A majority (92.6%) of the pharmacists graduating were female, and two-thirds graduated from the three-year bachelor program (Table 1)
Summary
In Sweden, as in many other countries, the roles of pharmacists have changed over the years.From primarily dispensing medications, pharmacists have become more clinically involved in patient care in different ways in the healthcare system [1]. Clinical pharmacists as part of a ward team have become more common in hospitals and primary care, and patient care services and different business models have been developed in community pharmacies. Some of these changes in job assignments might be due to the re-regulation of the Swedish pharmacy market that took place in 2009. This re-regulation implied a transition from a state-owned pharmacy monopoly to an open pharmacy market, including both community and hospital pharmacies [1,2,3,4] Taken together, these changes might have affected pharmacists’ job satisfaction. This is important because performance, motivation, and productivity are factors that are positively linked to job satisfaction, while lack of job satisfaction might affect patient care and safety negatively and increase job turnover [5,6,7,8,9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
