Analysis of modern employers’ requirements to responsibilities and competencies of pharmaceutical staff

Abstract

The aim of the study is to determine the need of Ukrainian employers for specialists with pharmaceutical education and to summarize their requirements to the responsibilities and key competences of different categories of pharmaceutical personnel. This should become the basis for the training programs for degree seeking applicants in NUPh.

Materials and methods: statistical analysis methods, observation method, frequency analysis method.

Results. The results of the analysis have demonstrated that the transformation of health care and pharmaceutical sector requires constant monitoring of health-care institutions’ needs for specialists with pharmaceutical education. This monitoring should be carried out systematically. We have analyzed job offers in the pharmaceutical healthcare sector for such vacancies as pharmacist, retail pharmacist, pharmaceutical analyst, medical (pharmaceutical) representative, production manager, pharmacy director and regulatory affairs manager published on 10 websites. According to the analysis results, it has been found that the highest demand is observed for retail pharmacists, medical (pharmaceutical) representatives, and pharmacy directors. It has also been established that recently, together with the increasing competition in the pharmaceutical labor market, employment requirements for applicants for vacant positions of retail pharmacist, pharmacy director, and medical (pharmaceutical) representative have been revised. In general, employers put forward more than 50 requirements for applicants for the positions under consideration; these requirements can be divided into functional, professional and personal. Having compared the compliance of the competencies, enlisted in the NUPh educational and professional programs (EPP) in Pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacy and Technology of Perfumery and Cosmetics, to employers’ requirements to vacant positions of retail pharmacist, medical (pharmaceutical) representative and regulatory affairs manager, it is established that the specified EPP take into account all necessary directions of the formation of the necessary professional competencies in future pharmaceutical graduates.

Conclusions. Considering the clarified modern requirements to the pharmaceutical personnel competencies, it is relevant to improve university curricula for degree seeking applicants in NUPh regarding extra credit additional disciplines such as Foreign Language, and also to advance management and economic disciplines in order to increase the level of competence of NUPh graduates in HR management, economy, pharmaceutical enterprise planning and administration, pharmaceutical assortment building, principles of self-management, pharmaceutical ethics, development of communicative skills in providing professional pharmaceutical help.