Charles Darwin University moves to address NT’s pharmacist shortage.
Charles Darwin University (CDU) is planning to tackle “the critical shortage of pharmacists in the Northern Territory” by reinstating pharmacy training.
The move comes less than three years after the institution dropped its Bachelor of Pharmacy program due to low enrolment numbers (PD 20 August 2019).
Announcing its return to the pharmacy sector, CDU revealed it will provide a two-year Master of Pharmacy program, which will start next year with an initial intake of up to 30 students.
CDU Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy, Heather Volk, said the reintroduction of pharmacy training would give the Northern Territory’s pharmacist cohort a much-needed boost.
“We don’t have enough pharmacists here and getting the right people with the right skills is important to the health of the NT,” she said.
Volk said Australia-wide, there are 88 pharmacists per 100,000 people, but the NT has only 63 per 100,000.
“There’s clearly a shortage of pharmacists in the Territory that needs to be addressed,” she said.
More details in tomorrow’s issue of Pharmacy Daily.
