NEW registration data from the Pharmacy Board of Australia shows registration numbers are continuing to grow, despite reports of workforce shortages.
The latest registration stats for the Jun 2021 quarter revealed 35,262 pharmacists were registered with the Board - an increase of 80 compared with the figures for Mar - with a record 32,417 holding general registration, up from 32,313 in the previous reporting period.
While total registration numbers have continued to grow, the new figures revealed there were 229 fewer pharmacists aged 29 years and under at the end of Jun than there were in Mar, marking a continuing downward trend in the number of registered pharmacists aged between 25 and 29 years.
The Board's figures suggest that the decline in registration numbers for pharmacists aged under 30 years has been driven by people leaving the profession, with the Jun stats showing that the number of pharmacists aged between 30 and 39 years grew by 80.
The profession's gender balance has remained steady, with female pharmacists accounting for just over 63% of all registrants, while women made up just over two-thirds of provisional registration holders.
The new registration figures also showed the number of pharmacists registered on the 2020 pandemic response sub-register, fell from 1,933 in Mar to 1,758 in Jun, with the Board reporting that as of 20 Sep there are 1,735 pharmacists included on it, with 532 included on the 2021 pandemic response sub-register announced earlier this week.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 24 Sep 21
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