Standard of Living for Pharmacist in His/Her Residency

Oxford dictionaries states that the definition of “standard of living” can be described as the degree of wealth and material comfort available to a person or community. I have taken on the angle of economic justice with respect to a pharmacist in his or her residency.

As I live in California I have gained interest in how interns can afford the high cost of living through the state. According to ASHP.org, which is Pharmacist Advancing Healthcare, more than 1,582 graduating pharmacy students and new practitioners participated in seeking postgraduate year one (PGY1) and postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) residencies. The cost of living according to Career Trends and the Cost of living, living in the Sacramento Region (Northern California) the cost of living is 147. An average score is 100 so with a score of 147 Sacramento is 47% more expensive than the United States Average. While researching this topic I came across the Residency Program information for Mercy General Hospital/ Mercy San Juan Medical Center Pharmacy Practice Residency (in Sacramento California), their estimated stipend is $60,000 including healthcare benefits. On USC School of Pharmacy.edu website their yearly estimated yearly stipend is $55,000 also including fringe benefits including health insurance. The department of Number for the US household income states that in the Census ACS survey “the median household income for the United States was $53,657 in 2014 (the numbers for 2015 will be released in September of 2016). But this does not include the student load debt they acquire while going to school which is around $114,422 which well exceeds their salary, average is around $112,160 for the first year, according to US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health.

During the Residency period of a pharmacist, for year one, they will experience training for “generalists” in health systems, managed care or community service. This affects their standard of living with paying for schooling and also managing day to day life, because of the wages that they are making during this period.

Hi brookemckahin,

Have you looked into specialized loans for pharmacy students? I found a little information here but a little more digging around by someone in the field who knows what they're looking for would no doubt turn out some more specific numbers.

California is a costly place to live in general. When I was in high school there, I remember the state implemented a loan and mortgage forgiveness/assistance program for college graduates who went into teaching. Is anything similar being done for those in the medical or pharmaceutical fields? Would a similar bill encourage too many people to go into the field and drive down wages?

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