Primary care pharmacist workforce mobility: Why do pharmacists want to work in primary care and how do these reasons differ for community and hospital pharmacists?

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the migratory and working patterns of primary care pharmacists, to explore the reasons pharmacists changed jobs, and in particular to ascertain from which sector pharmacists moved into primary care. Method: A self-completion postal questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data on current post and working practices and reasons for movement into the primary care sector, and semi-structured interviews to explore in more depth reasons for movement across sectors. Setting: Primary care pharmacists in England in 2001. Key findings: Just over half (52%) of the sample worked exclusively in primary care, having most likely left a post in hospital pharmacy, while almost half (48%) of the sample adopted a 'portfolio' pattern of working, where the primary care pharmacists have more than one job. This is most likely to be a locum position in community pharmacy. Pharmacists in this study were mostly attracted into primary care because they wanted to undertake more interesting work, make better use of their knowledge and get involved with the primary healthcare team. They left their previous place of work because they needed a change. The importance primary care pharmacists gave to each of these reasons differed, depending on the sector of employment they had left or continued to work in. Conclusion: As a sector of practice, primary care is drawing pharmacists from both the community and hospital sectors of the profession. However, the impact on the hospital sector is more marked as pharmacists are leaving this sector completely, while primary care pharmacists are more likely to maintain their practice commitments in the much larger community sector. © 2005 The Authors.