Pharmacists' wages and salaries: The part-time versus full-time dichotomy

Is Pharmacy a Friendly Profession for Everyone in the U.S.? A Probe into Gender and Other Income Disparities

The literature shows that women persistently earn less than men for similar roles and qualifications; yet, pharmacy has been portrayed as an egalitarian profession, with a small gender earnings gap relative to other occupations. There is a lack of recent studies, and some evidence suggests a significant gender gap when earnings are estimated separately for male and female pharmacists. This study compared the nature and magnitude of gender income disparities using two alternative methodological procedures and evaluated the evidence for policy implications. The study was based on 2019-2022 American Community Survey (ACS) data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. The sample consisted of 12,450 pharmacists (61.5% women) ages 25-64 years practicing in the U.S. Ordinary least-squares models calculated pharmacist annual incomes as functions of work input, human-capital, and job-related covariates. Results estimated a gender earnings gap of up to 18.6%. Differences across sociodemographic groups suggested that pharmacy is only friendly to selected segments of the profession. The empirical evidence reported here is expected to be used by healthcare managers and policymakers to inform ongoing discussion regarding the need for policy changes and cultural shifts to promote gender equity.

Gender and Pharmacists' Career Satisfaction in the United States

Job satisfaction reflects pharmacists' evaluation of their current work experiences, while career satisfaction is an evaluation of how satisfied pharmacists are with their profession across various jobs. The objectives of this article were to measure career satisfaction and specific facets of current-job satisfaction of U.S. pharmacists, compare satisfaction across genders, and examine the determinants of career satisfaction. This study was based on self-reported survey data collected from a random sample of licensed pharmacists practicing throughout the United States. The sample consisted of 422 men and 315 women. Within each gender, pharmacists' career satisfaction was modeled using ordinary least squares as a function of three sets of variables: personal characteristics, earnings and workweek, and other job-related variables. Female pharmacists exhibited higher levels of contentment with their careers than their male counterparts. Their career-satisfaction levels were not affected by age, marital status, annual earnings, or average workweek, covariates that systematically influenced male pharmacists' career satisfaction. Job satisfaction substantially affected pharmacists' long-term career satisfaction. Male and female pharmacists responded differently to stimuli, so a uniform set of work-related incentives may not be effective for both genders. Initiatives perceived by male practitioners as increasing satisfaction may be adversely perceived by female practitioners, and vice-versa.

A Theoretical Framework for Estimating the Rate of Return to a Pharmacy Education Anywhere

Undertaking a pharmacy education is an investment in human capital. Candidates trade off present versus future costs and benefits. They make this investment with the expectation of earning enough income throughout their worklives to make their undertaking financially worthwhile. Whether or not this occurs is determined by the rate of return. The aim of the current study was to construct a theoretical model to estimate the rate of return to a pharmacy education investment. Specifications for model assumptions, inputs, and outputs are discussed. The outputs are the rates of return, the inputs are the costs and benefits of a pharmacy education, and the assumptions illustrate the circumstances of the individual or group for whom the model is built. The rate of return is the annual percentage that equates the streams of benefits and costs over the investment span. The higher the value of the rate of return to a pharmacy education is, the more profitable is the investment. This theoretical model may be used to estimate the financial viability of pharmacy and compare it to the viability of other professions or to the viability of pharmacy among various locations.

Pockets of Inequality in the Distribution of U.S. Pharmacists' Wages and Salaries: A Gender Comparison

Background

The literature contains conflicting arguments regarding inequalities in the distribution of U.S. pharmacists' wages and salaries and the existence of a gender earnings gap. Some authors argue that the dispersion is small compared to other professions and there is no gap; others report that after controlling for number of hours worked, human-capital stock, and job-related preferences, male pharmacists earn higher wages and salaries than female pharmacists.

Objectives

Estimate the central tendency and spread of wages and salaries of pharmacists practicing in the U.S., compare earning levels of male and female pharmacists, and examine the pockets of inequality within each gender.

Methods

The study used self-reported survey data collected from a random sample of licensed pharmacists practicing throughout the United States. The sample consisted of 375 men and 279 women. Means and standard deviations of wage-and-salary earnings for male and female pharmacists were estimated by age, number of hours worked, years of professional experience, marital status, type of pharmacy degree, main role as pharmacist, and type of practice site. The spread of wages and salaries within gender was analyzed using the Gini coefficient.

Results

A total of 654 pharmacists provided answers to all relevant questions in the questionnaire (28.9% response rate). Wages and salaries of male pharmacists exceeded those of female pharmacists, but the gap was restricted to practitioners with selected characteristics–older, married, with more experience, whose primary role was dispensing medications, and practicing in a hospital setting. The greatest wage-and-salary inequalities were observed among older pharmacists, with more years of professional experience, and whose primary role was dispensing medications. Different gender-specific pockets of inequality were identified in all variables studied and all categories within these variables.

Conclusion

The seemingly smooth gender-specific distribution of earnings in the pharmacy profession might be the result of opposing trends by different groups of practitioners that cancel each other when analyzed aggregately. By estimating the wages and salaries for selected categories of pharmacists and examining the pockets of inequality within each gender, this study shed light into recent labor market developments and will hopefully stimulate further research into the dynamics of the pharmacist workforce.

Shifting perspectives - Planning for the future of the pharmacy profession taking current labor market trends into consideration

The future of the pharmacy profession and concerns about professional identity have been popular and recurring themes in professional journals and at international pharmacy conferences for more than 30 years. The aim of this paper is to contribute to realistic and viable visions for the future of the pharmacy profession via insights through labor market and work organization theories. These insights provide an understanding of contemporary work patterns and what they mean for the future role of community pharmacists. It appears that an important and influential contemporary trend in work organization today is precarious work, i.e. non-standard employment that promotes and relies on a flexible and fluid work force. Contrary to permanent employment, precarious work is often poorly paid, insecure, unprotected, and in many cases cannot support a household. The growth of precarious work among professionals, including pharmacists has been documented in many countries. In the early 21st century a major concern in the UK was the growth in the number of pharmacists who choose to be self-employed "locums" as opposed to seeking permanent employment. With the spread of precarious work a new, involuntary form of employment appeared a decade later with the spread of "zero-hour contracts" and "exclusivity agreements". Particularly affected by these flexible, precarious work conditions are the highly-educated young health professionals such as pharmacists. The profession needs to be proactive in order to stay abreast of economic/workforce and organizational trends. The way forward is a commitment to a dynamic, knowledge-based vision that includes an ongoing analysis of the outside world. The core role of pharmacists in the future includes: 1. engagement in interprofessional education with other healthcare professionals; 2. an acceptance of the contribution that lay knowledge provides to the understanding of health and medicines, and 3.keeping ajour with new and revolutionary treatments, both pharmaceutical and non-pharmacological.

Evaluating the Changing Financial Burdens for Graduating Pharmacists

Objective. To compare new practitioners in 2009 and 2014 by modeling net income from available salary, expenditure, and student loan data. Methods. A Monte Carlo simulation with probabilistic sensitivity analysis was conducted to model net income for graduating pharmacists in 2009 and 2014. Mean and standard deviations were recorded for each model parameter. Student t-tests were used to compare the mean differences between 2009 and 2014 cohorts. Results. Pharmacist salary and disposable income were higher on average in 2014 compared with 2009. Consumer expenditures were higher in 2014, offsetting the higher salary resulting in a 2014 discretionary income that was less than in 2009 [95% CI: -$2,336, -$1,587]. Net income decreased from 2009 to 2014 for all pharmacy school types. Conclusion. Regardless of loan payment strategy, net incomes for pharmacists graduating from public and private institutions were less in 2014 compared with 2009.