"The Pharmacist's Life" is back with a vengeance. It's been March since I last wrote of anything Pharmacy related and in that time you've been exposed to the randomness that is my blog. This time I'm back to highlight the issue of student numbers in Pharmacy.
This month, the government declared it would not place a cap on student numbers, despite there already being an oversupply of Pharmacists in England. I believe it's less of a problem in more sparsely populated Scotland. It's great living north of the border, where the only threats to Pharmacists are bad weather and the odd mugging. So, in 25 years time we can expect there to be an extra 19,000 Pharmacists in England. Let's not forget those who won't find post graduate positions.
The smart thing wold have been to introduce a controlled intake of students per year. Most who took part in the consultation agreed, and my most I mean almost everyone bar a few. I wonder who those were?
However Greg Clark, Universities Minister, decided that somehow the status quo would be better for students. Greater choice for students, whatever that means. Oh, yes, he is the Universities Minister so clearly this decision had nothing to do with securing greater income for universities.
Yet, on the subject of filling university coffers I did spot a certain silver lining. The consultation highlighted a potential " 'boom and bust’ situation", as prospective students no longer see Pharmacy as a stable and valued profession. In other words, it would mean closure of pharmacy schools and send universities back to square one. A malthusian limit of sorts, for the profession.
I take back what I said about Greg Clark. Maybe he's smarter than he looks.
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