College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Health Plann Manage. 2019 Jan;34(1):e583-e593. doi: 10.1002/hpm.2674. Epub 2018 Sep 28.
Saudi Arabia has shown rapid growth in its pharmacy workforce and pharmacy education over the last decade. The health indicators demonstrate an increased need for medications and, thus, the accessibility of pharmacies. Since pharmacists are considered the most accessible health care professionals, the country has experienced a continuous demand to produce more pharmacists.
The objectives of the study are to evaluate the pharmacy workforce in Saudi Arabia and to identify pharmaceutical manpower issues.
A retrospective cross-sectional approach was used. Data were obtained from the latest version of the Health Statistical Yearbook-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2016; Saudi Commission for Health Specialties publications, 2018.
In general, the exponential increase in the number of pharmacy schools has produced more pharmacists in the rural areas of the country, but inequitable distribution of the workforce still exists. The reliance on nonindigenous pharmacists, especially in the private sector, is substantial. Employed male pharmacists outnumber females, mainly due to the cultural and social factors that limit the participation of women in community pharmacy, which is the largest employment sector. The employment rate shows limited opportunities for Saudi pharmacists at MOH, as they have already Saudised almost all pharmacy positions at their health care facilities. However, the private sector needs to assume responsibility for their share of the renationalisation of the profession in order to provide jobs for local pharmacists.
Regular, more detailed profiling of the pharmacy workforce is an essential step to achieving effective pharmacy workforce planning. Currently, a large gap exists in our knowledge of the country's workforce.
在过去十年中，沙特阿拉伯的药剂师队伍和药剂师教育迅速发展。卫生指标表明，人们对药物的需求增加，因此对药店的可及性也提出了更高的要求。由于药剂师被认为是最容易接触到的医疗保健专业人员，因此该国一直需要培养更多的药剂师。
本研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯的药剂师队伍，并确定药剂师人力资源方面存在的问题。
采用回顾性横断面研究方法。数据来自沙特阿拉伯卫生统计年鉴 2016 年的最新版本和沙特卫生专业人员委员会 2018 年的出版物。
总的来说，药剂学校数量的指数级增长使得该国农村地区的药剂师人数有所增加，但劳动力的分布仍不均衡。对非本土药剂师的依赖，尤其是在私营部门，是相当大的。受雇的男性药剂师人数多于女性，这主要是由于文化和社会因素限制了女性参与社区药房，而社区药房是最大的就业领域。就业率表明，沙特药剂师在卫生部的机会有限，因为卫生部已经为其医疗保健机构的几乎所有药剂师职位实现了沙特化。然而，私营部门需要承担起重新实现该职业本土化的责任，为当地药剂师提供就业机会。
定期、更详细地分析药剂师队伍是实现有效药剂师队伍规划的必要步骤。目前，我们对该国劳动力的了解还存在很大差距。
