[Steve G]

Supply and demand: demand is high in retail because to open a pharmacy you need a pharmacist there. No pharmacist means no prescriptions dispensed and no medicines sold. Employing a pharmacist means you can run a profitable business. Supply is not high enough because there aren't that many universities where you can study pharmacy. The number is increasing, but it will take a few years for this to feed through. Other reasons include increasing feminisation of the profession (more likely to take time off for kids, work part time), older pharmacists retiring (CPD, increased fees etc).

Section 60: I'll let someone more capable answer that (Linnear?)

Pre-reg: the pre-reg year is putting what you learnt at uni into practice and getting practical experience of pharmacy - how to actually speak to doctors and patients, etc. It's the transition from being a student to a professional. And you have to do an exam at the end. All the major multiples offer pre-reg places, as do smaller regional groups such as Paydens, Day Lewis, Dean & Smedley. Application is directly to the company, but deadlines and application processes vary. The most important thing when choosing where to do the pre-reg is the tutor. Normally you do your pre-reg straight after finishing uni, but Bradford have a sandwich scheme where it is done as part of the undergrad course.

Career path: often there isn't one. If you work for one of the larger companies then you might have the option of store manager/area manager/head office job, but these will often take you away from direct contact with patients.

Karen Hassell at Manchester University has done quite a lot of work looking at the pharmacist workforce, quite often published in the pharmaceutical journal.