Top Stories from Drug Topics: 2016

With the uncertainty surrounding the 2016 presidential campaign, and continual concern about the U.S. economy, many of our most-popular stories this year debated the job market for pharmacists.

Daniel L. BrownIn “Signs of a weakening pharmacist job market,” our most-read story produced in 2016, Daniel L. Brown, a professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida, opined about the flood of new pharmacy schools and their effect on the pharmacy job market. (Brown’s Q&A prompted a response from another professor who argued that a pharmacist surplus could spur improved practice models.)

According to the Pharmacy Workforce Center (PWC), the supply of pharmacists in November 2015 exceeded the number of available jobs. Our report on PWC’s analysis was Drug Topics’ second most-read story of 2016.

Two of our pharmacist-written blogs were also among our Top 5 stories of 2016. Dennis Miller’s blog, “10 shocking things I’ve learned as a pharmacist,” describes the culture shock between pharmacy school and the real world. Many of you have added to Miller’s list.

David Stanley, with his unique comical approach, challenged his pharmacist colleagues to stop referring to themselves as doctors in “You’re a pharmacist, not a physician: Get your own title.”

Our exclusive salary survey, published in our January issue, revealed that most pharmacist received modest salary increases. Our most-recent salary survey was published last month.

The next five top-read stories of 2016 were:

CVS Pharmacist: Chain doesn’t care about us

Walmart ordered to pay pharmacist $31 million

Does videotape support CVS or fired pharmacist?

Are community pharmacists an endangered species?