Rural pay research

Simone roberts

The figure is almost $15 more than what rural pharmacists are paid according to the 2006 Remuneration Survey by APESMA. The average base hourly rate of pharmacists working in a city or suburban pharmacy was $32.92.

In new figures just released from the report, twenty five per cent of community pharmacists indicated they would consider working in a rural location as well as twenty six per cent of hospital pharmacists.

Paul Gysslink, professional issues & research officer with the Pharmacists Division of APESMA, said the profession needed to formally research what attracts pharmacists to work in rural areas.

“Funding needs to be provided, perhaps from the Community Pharmacy Agreement, to determine what factors will attract most of the 5,000 registered, but non-practising pharmacists back to the workforce, particularly those in rural areas.”

Mr Gysslink said focussing recruitment efforts on the non-practising section of the workforce was preferable to “pumping out” more and more pharmacy graduates.

“It is the Pharmacists Division of APESMA’s view that blindly expanding the number of pharmacy students completing the course and registering will not solve the shortage of practising pharmacists in Australia. We encourage the rural schools of pharmacy to have controlled expansion with the hope that most of those completing their courses will remain in rural practice,” he said.

“We also believe that pharmacy schools need to interview those enrolling in their pharmacy courses to select those who have suitable personality types for pharmacy. This may assist in decreasing the high attrition rate of pharmacists.”