Why Pharmacy Students Choose Patient-Facing, Non-Patient-Facing Roles

When exploring the factors that influence a pharmacist’s practice setting, the key decision pharmacy students make is whether to enter a patient-facing (PF) or non-PF role, according to a study published in Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning.¹ Data from the study support the future development of approaches to attract and retain employees in both PF or non-PF roles.

“Since the turn of the century, the pharmacy profession has undergone significant evolution, with expansion of the profession prompted by growing global health demands, development of patient-centered care, and modernization of the wider health care system,” wrote authors of the study. “The robust training needed to obtain a pharmacy degree, combining both a scientific and health care skillset, places graduates in an enviable position as they prepare to enter the employment marketplace.”

Researchers looked for a deeper understanding of the factors that influence pharmacy student decisions. | image credit: peopleimages.com / stock.adobe.com

The pharmacy industry has increasingly given pharmacists the option for a variety of ways to put their degrees to good use. Alternative pharmacy roles that have risen in recent history include regulators, academics, public bodies, consultants, and so many more.

READ MORE: Pharmacy Schools Should Prepare Students for Workforce Challenges

However, as the potential for non-PF, non-traditional pharmacy jobs increases, roles that are PF have become significantly less attractive to incoming pharmacists. As non-PF, often more desirable, roles arise in today’s pharmacy profession, the need for pharmacists in PF roles is increasing. Amid an aging population and a growing prevalence of chronic diseases, industry experts are looking for new ways to increase and retain the PF workforce.

A previous study from Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning explored pharmacy students’ career choices from the past 15 years. Researchers found that non-PF roles were met with greater career path satisfaction among students than those who became community pharmacists.²

While evidence supports non-PF roles as more desirable than their counterparts, researchers of the current study wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that influence pharmacy student decisions.

“Using a cross-sectional survey, this study aimed to provide an overview of the career intentions of pharmacy students at University College Cork (UCC),” wrote the authors.¹ “Student motivations for studying pharmacy and their intended career paths were examined, and findings were compared to a recent study of graduate career trajectories from the same university over a 15-year period.”

They conducted a cross-sectional evaluation by administering online surveys to pharmacy students in Ireland. Many of the enrollees’ curricula required experiential work and placement in both non-PF and PF pharmacy roles toward the end of their time in pharmacy school. Students included in the study had to be over 18 years old and enrolled in the UCC program as of October 2023.

“The anonymous survey used a combination of multiple-choice questions, yes/no questions, and Likert-scale ratings, ranging from not important to very important,” they continued.¹ “Sections of the survey included questions on demographics and course perceptions, influences on choosing to study pharmacy, career intentions, influences on career intentions, and influence of experiential learning placements.”

A total of 311 students (73.9% women, 23.8% in first year of pharmacy school) completed the survey, which constituted 90.1% of all students in the UCC program.

Regarding students’ desired pharmacy settings, 56.5% were planning for community pharmacy roles, 18.4% in industry roles, and 10.6% in hospital pharmacy roles. For the students who preferred PF roles, they saw greater importance in patient contact and impacts on health and well-being. For those looking for non-PF roles, however, they placed emphasis on valued benefits, promotion, and training opportunities, with less emphasis on pharmacy skills.

“This study reveals a mixture of intrinsic and extrinsic factors are important to students when choosing between PF or non-PF settings,” the authors wrote. “As anticipated, the need to use pharmacy skills and the desire for direct patient contact differed across the sectors. In addition, students choosing a PF role appear to consider the impact of a job on their own health and well-being more than their non-PF counterparts.”

Upon the survey results, students looking for PF roles were focused on interacting with patients while keeping their own health and well-being in check. For students seeking non-PF roles, their focuses mainly surrounded work-related benefits. However, while intentions of pharmacy students and their career paths varied, researchers uncovered that work placement was the single most important factor that influenced participants’ career desires.

“This study has successfully analyzed career intentions and factors affecting degree and career choice of pharmacy students,” they concluded.¹ “Impacts of this research include the revelation that factors influencing practice setting can be differentiated between those choosing PF or non-PF roles. Consequentially, this methodology can be applied elsewhere and data used by future employers and policymakers, particularly within PF settings.”

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References

1. Hovenden A, O’Shea JP, Bennett-Lenane H. Factors affecting pharmacy student career intentions across patient-facing and non-patient facing settings: a cross-sectional evaluation. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2025;17(9):102408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2025.102408

2. Fitzpatrick KL, Allen EA, Griffin BT, et al. Exploring career choices of pharmacy graduates over 15 years: a cross-sectional evaluation. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2024;16(5):307-318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2024.02.010