EVALUATION OF RECENT PHARMACY GRADUATES PRACTICE PATTERNS, PROFESSIONAL LIFELONG LEARNING, PHARMACY ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIPS, AND SALARY

OBJECTIVES: To document information on recent bachelor of science (B.S .) pharmacy graduates' practice patterns, professional lifelong learni ng (PLL) methods, pharmacy organization memberships, and salary. The a ssociation between advanced training and education on PLL methods, pha rmacy organization membership, and salary are explored. DATA SOURCES: Pertinent literature was identified by MEDLINE searches (1966-1992). S TUDY DESIGN: The results of a Fall 1991 survey of recent B.S. pharmacy graduates (n=371) of the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy a re reported (55 percent response rate). RESULTS: Hospital pharmacists devoted more time to PLL outside of work (18.00 +/- 17.89 h/mo) than c ommunity pharmacists (9.93 8.76 h/mo), t=5.02, degrees of freedom (df) =289, p < 0.001. Graduates who had completed an advanced degree progra m, residency, or fellowship (advanced degree/training [ADT]) spent mor e time in PLL (17.76 +/- 10.63 h/mo) compared with graduates who had o nly obtained a B.S. degree (10.63 +/- 8.56 h/mo), t=3.80, df=311, p<0. 001. Graduates who had ADT were more likely to belong to multiple phar macy organizations (2.14 +/- 1.38 organizations) than hospital pharmac ists (1.61 +/- 1.27 organizations) and community pharmacists (1.11 +/- 1.06 organizations). Of the pharmacists who graduated in 1989 and 199 0 (one to two years postgraduation), 55 percent belonged to the Americ an Pharmaceutical Association. This declined to 19 percent of the grad uates from 1984 and 1985 (six to seven years postgraduation), a 62 per cent decline in membership. Membership in the American Society of Hosp ital Pharmacists (ASHP) was held by 19 percent of graduates one to two years after graduation; and 34 percent of graduates belonged to ASHP six to seven years after graduation, an 81 percent increase. Graduates with ADT (compared with graduates with the B.S. degree only) showed t he strongest correlation of membership affiliation, which was about eq ual with ASHP (phi=0.32) and ACCP (phi=0.33). Although pharmacists cha nged their individual pharmacy organization memberships during the fir st seven years after graduation, there was no evidence of a decline in overall interest in pharmacy organization membership. Pharmacists who had completed ADT had an annual mean salary of $51 112 +/- $10 012; t hose pharmacists who did not complete an ADT program had an annual mea n salary of $46 440 +/- $7802, a difference of $4672 per year. Hospita l pharmacists who had obtained ADT had an annual mean salary of $51 84 0 +/- $9765; B.S. pharmacists without ADT in hospital practice had an annual mean salary of $43 603 +/- $8192, a difference of $8237 per yea r. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacists' PLL methods, organization memberships, an d salaries varied significantly by their practice site and the complet ion of an ADT program.