Association between Pharmacists' Country of Qualifying Education and Practising in a Hospital Setting: A Cross-Sectional Ontario Study.

Abstract

Background: It is hypothesized that international pharmacy graduates (IPGs) are underrepresented in more clinically challenging work.

Objective: To examine the association between country of qualifying education for pharmacists in Ontario and the likelihood of practising in a hospital setting.

Methods: This study was based on publicly available data from the Ontario College of Pharmacists website, specifically records for all Ontario pharmacists with authorization to provide patient care and for whom country of qualifying education and an accredited pharmacy as a place of practice were reported. Pharmacists who met the inclusion criteria were categorized as Canadian graduates or IPGs. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for reporting hospital pharmacy as a place of practice were estimated by fitting a logistic regression, with adjustment for gender and years since graduation.

Results: A total of 14 689 pharmacists were included in the study: 7403 (50.4%) Canadian graduates and 7286 (49.6%) IPGs. These pharmacists worked in a total of 5028 accredited pharmacies (243 hospital pharmacies [4.8%] and 4785 community pharmacies [95.2%]). Among Canadian graduates, 2458 (33.2%) reported at least 1 hospital pharmacy practice site, whereas the proportion was much smaller among IPGs (427, 5.9%). Canadian graduates represented 85.2% (2458/2885) of all pharmacists who reported hospital practice. The estimated crude OR for practice in a hospital pharmacy was 7.98 (95% CI 7.16-8.91), and the adjusted OR was 7.12 (95% CI 6.39-7.98).

Conclusions: IPGs may face barriers impeding their ability to practise in a hospital setting. Providing opportunities such as structured clinical training and experiential placements may facilitate integration of IPGs in institutional settings.