Since the 2012-13 school year, pharmacy schools have seen fewer applicants for PharmD programs.
Hospital leaders have taken notice.
Twelve years ago, 17,617 people applied to PharmD programs with the Pharmacy College Application Service, according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. In the 2022-23 school year, following a steady trend, this figure fell to 11,227 — a 36.3% decrease.
Pharmacy executives at health systems in Kentucky, Washington and North Carolina have previously told Becker's they are concerned about the smaller pool of applicants for PharmD programs and residency spots.
"I think the workload and burnout in the healthcare field is just causing people to reevaluate [and] rethink what their priorities are," Don Gruntowicz, PharmD, senior director of pharmacy services at Swedish Health Services in Seattle, said. "Some have chosen to leave the healthcare field altogether. It's concerning for the profession of pharmacy, and it's certainly concerning for other fields, such as nursing and medicine."
Workforce staffing shortages could also delay progress in expanding pharmacist scopes to include primary care services — a movement that is gaining support among clinicians.