Will nurses be the "saviors" of the pharmacy profession?

Several close friends of mine work as pharmacists in jobs that also employ nurses. These include research companies such as PPD and Quintiles as well as specialty pharmacies, drug companies, and insurance companies. I'm sure several people on this sub also work in these environments and can hopefully comment on my opinion here.

As "saviors" I mean their positions could save pharmacists in the future. Currently, per some sources, there is a shortage of nurses in the US and this is expected to continue according to experts. Vanderbilt School of Nursing said in 2009 that, "despite the recent swell in RN workforce entry, our projections indicate a shortfall of RNs developing around 2018 and growing to about 260,000 by 2025." The HRSA predicts an OVERSUPPLY of pharmacists in tune of about 50,000 by 2025. Now obviously, the school of nursing expecting an oversupply should be viewed as biased, so I looked at the HRSA as well. The HRSA is expecting an OVERSUPPLY of nurses by 2025, but in 16 states there would be a shortage. Also, they reported that if demand increased, that a shortage of 86,000 could be expected. So it seems like the HRSA is saying that they are not quite sure, but that even in their oversupply scenario that 16 states would have a shortage. They also wrote that more and more nurses are going into higher degree programs. There is also the point that 900,000+ current RNs (~33% of work force) is over age 50, and will be hitting retirement ages in the next 10 years, with the majority of that group being 55+. Here is a PDF report that cites a lot of the sources I looked at and also does their own research to look at current job listings to see current demand.

Now my personal observations are that there is (in my area) a nursing demand, especially (as should be assumed) for experienced nurses. Due to this, the nurses at the initially mentioned jobs seem to be demanding and often threaten to quit because of how easy they can find another job. A quick google search for consultant nurse or medical information nurse salaries gives me numbers of about $60k to $80k or ~$30 to $37/hour. As it is now, these jobs are filled with nurses instead of pharmacists for the simple reason of: they are cheaper to employ. Pharmacists are much more qualified for these non-patient care positions vs nurses and are often employed at these jobs as well, but in a more limited amount because of the additional salary they currently demand. This comes from asking a few hiring managers at these companies. They both said the same thing, that they can't hire more pharmacists right now (despite having similar positions open to RNs) because they would have to pay them pharmacist salaries. When it comes down to hiring a pharmacist for $100k vs an RN for $60k at a medical information position, its a tough sell for the pharmacist. With downward pressure in salaries, this might not be the case in the future.

So, where am I going with all this? Well you probably figured it out by now, but my prediction is that by 2025 there will be more competition for these non-patient care positions from pharmacists, PAs, and NPs. Pharmacists, in my opinion, are by far the most qualified for those professions of research and medical information positions because we are educated on these subjects during our schooling while the others are more qualified for direct patient care positions because that is what they are educated on.

Instead of focusing on provider status so much, I am hopeful that pharmacy leadership is looking into integrating pharmacists better into these type of roles. I could see a great use for a pharmacist at a PBM for example who reviews prior auths, gives medical information, and verifies prescribers orders as well as possible management duties. Hopefully by opening residencies with these companies (among other things), they realize that pharmacists can provide additional value over other professionals in these jobs and that if salaries drop that they will be a "no-brainer" choice for these type of job openings.

Conclusion: Who knows what the future will bring, but this is definitely a possibility to look into.