Jump Start -- by Mark Sproxton

Change and many job opportunities are two key factors driving pharmacies in Alberta. With health care and health care practices under review, pharmacists are being asked to play an expanded role in health care delivery. That, in turn, will lead to more and different opportunities for pharmacy technicians as well. Add them together, it means there will be many available jobs for a few years to come in the province in this industry.

Want some ideas on where to go for more information? Here's a look at some local education/training opportunities, businesses/associations and some job boards. Jump off here and begin your career research.

Education/training
Red Deer College offers the province's lone pharmacy technician program that lasts 10 months and is available on campus or through distance education.

SAIT (The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) offers a 16-week pharmacy assistant program allowing grads to take on basic pharmacy duties.

The University of Alberta (U of A) offers the province's lone program for pharmacists through its pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences faculty.

The University of Calgary (U of C) offers advanced training in pharmacology through its department of medicine.

Businesses/Associations

• The Pharmacological Society of Canada
• Canadian Association of Pharmacy Technicians, Alberta Branch
• Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists
• Alberta College of Pharmacists
• Pharmacists Association of Alberta
• Calgary Co-op
• Safeway
• Apotex Inc.

Jobs

• Pharmacy Connects
• Pharmacy Tech Jobs
• Calgary Health Region
• Safeway
• Calgary Co-op
• Apotex Inc.

With 3,000 practicing pharmacists in Alberta, the provincial pharmacists association expects there to be over 200 jobs available this year alone, with many more openings in the years ahead.

Part of the reason behind the demand is an aging population of pharmacists, but also because their role is changing, explained Lisa DeVos, director of policy and economics for the Pharmacists Association of Alberta.

"Pharmacists are playing an expanded role in primary health care, disease management and wellness programs and discussions about further enhancing their integration into primary health care reform are underway," she told nextSteps. "This makes for exciting opportunities ahead, as the demand for these expanded services increases."

Those changing demands will also create more opportunities for pharmacy technicians, she believes. The utilization of technicians will increase with the demand for pharmacists to focus more on clinical, patient focused education, counselling and disease management, she explained.

Job openings for pharmacists will come from all sectors, including retail, hospitals, industry, research, government and corporate management.

Devos offers this advice to those considering a career as a pharmacist:

• talk to a local pharmacist and try to arrange a job shadow;
• call the Pharmacists Association of Alberta to arrange for a speaker to your school;
• take part in the University of Alberta's pharmacy program's annual orientation days held each February;
• contact the Alberta College of Pharmacists about registration requirements in the province.