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Employers’ perspectives on recruiting and retaining pharmacists in regional and rural Victoria, Australia

Employers’ perspectives on recruiting and retaining pharmacists in regional and rural Victoria, Australia

  • September 24, 2025
  • He Z, Bourke L

Pharmacies and pharmacists play a vital role in primary health care, particularly in regional and rural Australia where workforce shortages are common. While most literature has focused on employee perspectives, this qualitative cross-sectional study explored employers’ experiences with recruiting and retaining pharmacists in these settings. Using a randomised sample of 20 employers from a database of 151, semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed through inductive coding, yielding 473 responses condensed into 72 codes across three themes: remuneration, work conditions and policy; workplace and role satisfaction; and social factors. Employers highlighted inadequate pay and remuneration, limited flexibility in scope of practice and working hours, and persistent challenges related to geography and social integration as key barriers to workforce retention. They also stressed that creating flexible roles and supportive work environments could improve recruitment and retention outcomes. Overall, findings underscore the urgent need for targeted strategies to strengthen the rural pharmacy workforce in Victoria.

  • Source: Rural and Remote Health

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Dr. Charlie Labarda

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Charlie Labarda, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine and Dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of the Philippines Manila (UPM-SHS), where he has taught for more than a decade. He is a regular member of the National research Council of the Philippines, belonging to the Medical Sciences Division (Division III). Before joining the medical faculty at UPM-SHS he trained in at the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Philippine General Hospital. He finished his PhD in the Department of Psychology at The University of Hong Kong, his Master in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management (high honors), Doctor of Medicine (cum laude) at the Our Lady of Fatima University-College of Medicine, and his undergraduate Social Sciences studies (cum laude) at UP Tacloban College. He was a topnotcher in the Physician Licensure Examination (8th place).

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Dr. Shafik Dharamsi

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His career includes leadership roles as regional director for early childhood development and poverty alleviation in East Africa with the Aga Khan Development Network, founding associate dean of the School of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso, and senior advisor to the provost at New Mexico State University.

 

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