NEWSROOM

 

June 25, 2008, ST. LOUIS – Writing a prescription to cure the nationwide pharmacist shortage is no easy task. Despite an average national salary of more than $100,000, retail pharmacies and hospitals throughout the United States still find it difficult to fill pharmacist job openings. In fact, experts predict a shortfall of 157,000 positions by the year 2020, according to the Pharmacy Manpower Project, a nonprofit corporation serving the pharmacy profession.

 

The demand for pharmacists is fueled by an increasing volume of prescriptions associated with a rapidly aging population, increased direct marketing of drugs to consumers, and more pharmacies now staying open 24 hours a day.

 

To increase the number of students enrolling in pharmacy school in the St. Louis area, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Express Scripts and St. Louis College of Pharmacy (BESt) have created a joint program called the BESt Summer Pharmacy Institute. Designed specifically for multicultural high school students, BESt is a four-week program that consists of math, science and ACT/SAT preparation classes held at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, combined with on-site visits to Barnes-Jewish Hospital's inpatient and outpatient pharmacies. Students receive a stipend after completing the program.

 

The program, which runs June 16 through July 11, aims to improve students’ knowledge base in chemistry and mathematics, raise their ACT/SAT scores, encourage them to enroll in pharmacy school and ultimately, increase workforce diversity in the pharmacy profession.

 

The BESt Summer Pharmacy Institute was developed by pharmacists Steve Player, inpatient pharmacy manager at Barnes-Jewish and Isaac Butler, clinical program manager at Express Scripts. Both serve as program co-directors.

 

“BESt is not a short-term project but rather a long-term investment for many generations of high school and college students,” says Butler. “We want to provide an opportunity for young people to discover their potential.”

 

“Our goal is to foster the talent that lies within the diverse St. Louis high school community,” says Player. “Through the program we hope to create a viable pipeline of diverse, talented health professionals and ultimately take a step towards eliminating health care disparities.”

 

The pilot program currently has 30 students representing 13 high schools in the St. Louis area: Berkeley, Cardinal Ritter, Clayton, East St. Louis, Hazelwood Central, Gateway, Ladue, Lutheran North, McCluer, Metro, Normandy, Parkway North, Parkway South, Pattonville, St. Elizabeth and University City.

 

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