Abstract
Aim: To investigate the range of occupations undertaken by pharmacists in the pharmaceutical industry and to explore their views on this area of the profession and its value to the industry.
Design: Theme analysis of responses to a questionnaire comprising structured and open questions.Subjects and setting: Industrial pharmacists on the Industrial Pharmacists Group (IPG) electronic mailing list.
Outcome measures: Roles and views on industrial pharmacy practice.
Results: 153 pharmacists from the IPG responded. 107 (70%) worked in research and development, 54 (35%) in regulatory affairs, 49 (32%) in administration and 43 (28%) in quality assurance. Respondents were enthusiastic about their role in the industry, and considered that their pharmacy training was a positive feature in determining the value of the contribution they made to the industry. Key positive themes that emerged included the availability of a wide variety of jobs and ability to perform well due to broad knowledge base. Negative themes included a need for more promotion of this area of practice and better support from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Conclusions: Many industrial pharmacists think there is a wide range of opportunities for pharmacists to provide a valuable contribution to the industry, particularly in view of their breadth of knowledge, and that this career option should be promoted to potential recruits more effectively.
Design: Theme analysis of responses to a questionnaire comprising structured and open questions.Subjects and setting: Industrial pharmacists on the Industrial Pharmacists Group (IPG) electronic mailing list.
Outcome measures: Roles and views on industrial pharmacy practice.
Results: 153 pharmacists from the IPG responded. 107 (70%) worked in research and development, 54 (35%) in regulatory affairs, 49 (32%) in administration and 43 (28%) in quality assurance. Respondents were enthusiastic about their role in the industry, and considered that their pharmacy training was a positive feature in determining the value of the contribution they made to the industry. Key positive themes that emerged included the availability of a wide variety of jobs and ability to perform well due to broad knowledge base. Negative themes included a need for more promotion of this area of practice and better support from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Conclusions: Many industrial pharmacists think there is a wide range of opportunities for pharmacists to provide a valuable contribution to the industry, particularly in view of their breadth of knowledge, and that this career option should be promoted to potential recruits more effectively.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 270-277 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Pharmaceutical Journal |
| Volume | 281 |
| Publication status | Published - 6 Sept 2008 |