They were willing to interview me and hire me on the spot. The whole thing was fascinating - and a big boost to my ego. Egan's story is not that unusual. Fueled by an aging society and tremendous growth in the health care industry, the demand for pharmacists is immense - in Oregon and nationally. This shortage of pharmacists comes at a time when the profession itself is changing.
Many pharmacists work directly with patients and their physicians on drug strategies and therapies.
What we try to promote in our college is that pharmacy is a health care profession, not a commodity. Despite the lure of high salaries, the shortage of pharmacists persists and applications to pharmacy schools nationally are lagging. OSU, which has the only professional pharmacy program in Oregon, is trying to address the shortage and the changing nature of the profession by enrolling its first class of Pharm. D. students this past year. The program will no longer offer bachelor's degrees in pharmacy.