| Summary: | There is a pharmacist shortage in British Columbia that is considered particularly
acute in rural and remote locations. As a result, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the
University of British Columbia has increased enrolment from certain geographic areas,
assuming that students will return to these areas on graduation. The main objectives of this
study are to determine where pharmacy graduates take their first jobs and the factors that
influence their selection of job location. Survey methodology was used, with a written
questionnaire being administered to the Class of 2007 after a validation process involving
volunteers from the Class of 2006. Mean values of responses on rating scales were compared
to assess for statistically significant (p≤O.O5) effects of location size and the demographic
variables of age, sex, marital status, and ethnicity.
Of 93 respondents who reported both a primary home town and ajob location, only
33(35%) planned to take jobs where they grew up and only 42 (45%) were taking jobs in the
same area of the province. The most common migration patterns were from smaller to larger
communities and from all over the province into Metro Vancouver. Those who grew up in
Metro Vancouver did not leave. However, the majority of those who did take jobs in other
areas of the province had lived there previously. The strongest influences on job location
were familiarity with the location, ability to get an enjoyable job, pace of life, proximity to
significant others, and career and relationship plans. Smaller community size, ability to
practice in the manner desired, and pace of work were more important, and access to cultural,
entertainment, and/or social activities were less important to those taking jobs in rural rather
than urban areas. There were no findings of practical significance associated with the
demographic variables examined.
The selective admission into 12 specially funded seats in the program of students
from geographic areas other than the province’s one large urban centre is modestly effective
in ensuring a supply of pharmacists for these areas. However, the use of geography as a
criterion for all seats and an increase in the total number of seats would ensure that the
student body is more representative of the provincial population and would address both
supply and demand aspects of the pharmacist shortage. === Education, Faculty of === Educational Studies (EDST), Department of === Graduate
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