Opportunities for pharmacists as managers: perceptions of senior executives in the pharmaceutical industry.
OBJECTIVE
To determine how senior-level executives in the pharmaceutical industry perceive pharmacists as managers in their industry.


METHODS
Mailed survey. Senior executive officers of 72 companies who were members of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers' Association indicated in which of 47 different areas an entry-level pharmacy degree would be beneficial for management positions.


RESULTS
40 responses (56%) were received after a follow-up mailing. The areas chosen most frequently were product development and quality control in pharmaceutics (88%), formulation (88%), drug information (88%), quality assurance (85%), pharmaceutics in research (83%), and product management (83%). The 25% of respondents who had a pharmacy background chose more areas where a pharmacy degree would be beneficial (t = 6.87, df = 38, p < .05) than did nonpharmacists.


CONCLUSIONS
To the extent that senior executives represent the current culture and the future direction of the pharmaceutical industry, pharmacists have a variety of career opportunities within pharmaceutical companies.
Walker
S E
SE
St. Louis College of Pharmacy, USA. swalker@esseresearch.com
Schafermeyer
K W
KW
Rickert
D R
DR
Hurd
P D
PD
D000288:Administrative Personnel; D001290:Attitude; D002322:Career Mobility; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010595:Pharmacists; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires