Examining Diversity Among Ambulatory Care Pharmacists in Underserved Areas

In a national survey of 111 ambulatory care pharmacists working in underserved areas, 83.8% were White/Caucasian, 76.6% were female, and less than a third were bilingual, according to a study published online in Pharmacy Practice.  

“With a large majority of our respondents identifying as White and unilingual, there remains a large opportunity to increase diversity in the clinical pharmacy ambulatory care workforce caring for underserved populations,” researchers wrote. 

The original survey was distributed to ambulatory care clinical pharmacists working in underserved areas throughout the United States between April 2019 and June 2019. Researchers were interested in identifying characteristics of pharmacists serving in such roles. 

Among respondents, the top reasons for serving in ambulatory care clinical positions were a passion for providing care to underserved populations, a faculty appointment, and the freedom and flexibility of practicing in an advanced clinical role. 

Researchers pointed out that the 76.6% rate of female respondents to the survey surpassed the 61.8% rate of female pharmacists in the United States.  

“[O]ur data might indicate that female pharmacists are more likely to pursue jobs with underserved populations than male pharmacists,” they observed. 

The survey also revealed that the majority of respondents had previous clinical experience or specialized training in the care of underserved populations. 

“Thus, one potential long-term strategy to diversify and grow the ambulatory care clinical pharmacist workforce in underserved settings is for clinical practice sites to partner with colleges of pharmacy to recruit and maintain quality individuals who can meet the needs of diverse patient populations,” researchers advised, “as well as expand student and resident training opportunities in underserved settings.”

Reference: 

Stewart MP, Fink R, Kosirog E, Saseen JJ. Bridging health disparities: a national survey of ambulatory care pharmacists in underserved areas. Pharm Pract (Granada). 2021;19(2):2359. doi:10.18549/PharmPract.2021.2.2359