Chairman's Note: A Change in Season and Attitudes

Fall is a time of change. Leaves change color and drift off branches, leaving trees a blank canvas for the next season.

Now that summer has passed, pharmacy students have returned to school and hopefully started to find their rhythm in classes. Relaxed, summertime attitudes have been shed as students once again transform themselves into focused and hardworking individuals ready to learn.

For new pharmacy students this year, the future is looking bright. According to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, which surveyed 2014 graduating pharmacy students, the majority of students (94.9%) feel prepared to enter pharmacy practice, and 81.8% would choose pharmacy as a profession if they had the chance to start school over again. Nearly 80% also said they would recommend pharmacy to friends or relatives. This bodes well for first-year pharmacy students.

In addition, although students are borrowing more money these days to pay for their higher education, pharmacy students will be better prepared than most to pay off their student loans once they find a job. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data from May 2014, the median salary for pharmacists was $118,470, while the annual mean wage for all occupations was $47,230.

With advances in provider status for pharmacists, new technology to help patients improve their health, and increasing interest in pharmacist skills, particularly with adherence and medication therapy management, now is an exciting time to be a pharmacist.

In this issue of Pharmacy Careers, you will find informative articles that will expose you to innovative pharmacy programs happening across the United States, such as a Meds to Beds program in Georgia and a student-run concept pharmacy at a North Dakota university.

Pharmacy students will also find helpful career advice in this issue, including interview tips for landing your first job in pharmacy and career snapshots of pharmacists 5, 20, and more than 40 years into practice.

Also, don’t miss the Industry Voice from Albertsons Companies about the power of asking for what you want. Two pharmacists in the field share the successes they have had in applying this simple concept.

Embrace the change in seasons, find ways to reinvent yourselves, and consider news ways you can help patients with their health goals.

Thank you for reading!

Mike Hennessy

Chairman and CEO