On the 8th of this month there will be 263 new 1st year pharmacy students at Sydney University.
In two years 37 of these will graduate as Masters.
In 2006 there will be over a hundred extra pharmacist graduates from Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra and Griffin.
Are these graduates an inferior race, will they be friends or foes?

I have been in lectures where students are stacked into lecture theatres like sardines sitting upright. I have been in tutorials where it's difficult to find a seat let alone get one on one time with a tutor.
I've had labs where I would have understood the aim if I was performing the experiment separately than in a group of half a dozen.
Currently, these are the exceptions.
However, with shared bachelor and master lectures, stretched lab facilities, stretched tutors and lecturers...

Will these exceptions become the rule?

If it takes four years to learn enough to become a bachelor graduate, three years are pharmacy-based, how come masters can do it in two?
Is the standard of pharmacist going to be effected?
Will the Masters really be the Masters of the pharmacy profession?

The average master candidate is a distinction science graduate who had experience working in pharmacy.
They will be that little bit older, have that little bit more life experience and maybe be that little bit more responsible than the 22 year old graduate who has never worked a 40 hour week.
Many bachelor students already find it challenging to get pre-registration places particularity those who wish to work in hospital.
Would you choose a Master over a Bachelor?

Pharmacists are in demand.
Although rarely admitted it is common knowledge that once registered, young pharmacists will be able to bargain a great wage.
Job opportunities for young pharmacist can pay up to $100, 000 plus plus accommodation plus a car. Will these offers become scarce with the increasing number of pharmacists available?

As current pharmacy owners retire there will be 220 pharmacies for sale each year over the next 10 years.
Today it is near to impossible for a young pharmacist to obtain enough capital to buy their own pharmacy.
It has been promised that with the increasing number of pharmacies available, they will become more attainable.
However will the extra 700 master graduates in these 10 years aggravate the promised attainability?

Bachelor naivety forces me to take the Mickey out of the Mini Masters.
However, I'm not so naive to realize the pharmacy world needs more baby pharmacist to survive.

More pharmacists will decrease the workload shortage.
It will decrease the stress and workload pressure placed on current pharmacists.
It will allow a diversification resulting in a broader range of pharmacists.
It means that pharmacists will be able to focus on the consulting rather that the manual aspect of pharmacy.
More pharmacists will result in a stronger industry!

If the industry is not strong we will not survive as the pharmacists we were trained to be.
There would be no point in studying four years, there would be no point in registering, and there would be not point in buying a pharmacy if the industry is not viable.
Mickey is the man he is because Minnie is by his side.

Editor's Note: Workforce projections to the year 2010 indicate that while there is an increase in the net intakes into universities, with the trend to continue, demand will continue to outstrip supply (due to population ageing).
So there will always be good jobs available.
While there is a real potential for pharmacy numbers to decline over coming years, with a little bit of creative thinking, it would be possible to create ownership opportunities for new pharmacists as part of salary packaging. The alert pharmacy proprietor will anchor and value the pharmacy graduate in this way, creating a long-term working relationship.