Clinical career ladders: application to hospital pharmacy practice.

The reasons for job dissatisfaction among hospital pharmacists are reviewed, and an option for ameliorating the problem by offering clinical career ladders is advanced. Not enough new pharmacists are being trained to replace those leaving the profession, and hospital pharmacy managers seeking to recruit and retain quality pharmacists are facing stiff competition from retail outlets, academia, and the pharmaceutical industry. Hospital staff pharmacists report less of a sense of accomplishment than other workers and are more likely to change jobs. Although inadequate pay and benefits are frequently cited, one investigator found that the greatest source of dissatisfaction was the lack of opportunity for advancement. Other professions facing similar problems have experimented with a system of parallel career ladders in which alternatives to the traditional managerial advancement track are offered. Staff nurses on a clinical ladder remain in a direct patient-care role while ascending a hierarchy of clinical practice levels; each level brings greater responsibility and rewards. Outcomes have included improved recruitment, decreased turnover, and increased interest in educational programs. In pharmacy, each level of a clinical career ladder would be defined by explicit criteria for knowledge and skill in patient care and drug therapy. As in nursing, such a ladder would create advancement opportunities and reward the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Several hospital pharmacy departments now offer clinical career ladders. Implementation of clinical career ladders has the potential to enhance the job satisfaction of hospital pharmacists and improve their recruitment and retention.