“We hope that the bleeding will stop,” says the dean of the Paris faculty of pharmacy

More than 1,100 vacant places in 2022, 500 in 2023… Jean-Louis Beaudeux believes that the reorganization of access to health studies is in question. “A high school student must be able to enter pharmacy studies directly and not through circuitous routes,” he argues.

“We hope that the bleeding will stop, but this adds to a shortage of practicing pharmacists which is already penalizing the population”, worries Wednesday February 28 on franceinfo the dean of the Paris faculty of pharmacy and honorary president of the National Academy of Pharmacy, Jean-Louis Beaudeux. Faced with the drop in the number of pharmacy students, professionals are worried. More than 1,100 places remained vacant in 2022 in the second year of pharmacy, 500 in 2023.

“Within the Paris Faculty of Pharmacy, we have lost 300 students two years ago, around thirty last year”, points out Jean-Louis Beaudeux. The fault, according to him, is the 2020 health studies entry reform which reorganized access to health studies, replacing the common first year (Paces) with two distinct sectors, the Pass (specific health access course ) and the LAS (health access license). “Find the right path to get to the second year of pharmacy” is difficult, he points out, worrying about a “loss of visibility of training”. “A high school student must be able to enter pharmacy studies directly and not through circuitous and very general routes such as the Pass”he continued.

Many unknown opportunities

The lack of information for future baccalaureate graduates about pharmacy studies and their opportunities is also pointed out by the honorary president of the National Academy of Pharmacy. “Students are always tempted by medicine and pharmacy choices are by default and above all are less thought out than before because they are more hasty,” he analyzes. “There are hundreds of jobs that we don’t know about”assures Nicolas Savic, spokesperson for the association of pharmacy students, citing the case of hospital pharmacists who we do not see, or the lack of information regarding the numerous opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry.

More generally, the dean emphasizes that “living conditions are not always those that students want today. Pharmacy is the only medical profession that is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., six days a week in the majority of cases”, he recalled. The profession ultimately points to the risk of “pharmaceutical deserts”while the community pharmacist “is the first medical recourse of a population”defends Jean-Louis Beaudeux.

“The community pharmacist is thought to be a ‘box pusher’ when in reality he is a public health expert who advises his patients.”

Nicolas Savic, spokesperson for the pharmacy students association

at franceinfo

To raise awareness of opportunities, the pharmacy students’ association intervenes directly in high schools with students. “If we start to lose or become rarer in this local access to health, we risk having big problems in our French health system”summarizes Jean-Louis Beaudeux.