Combating pharmacist shortage through labor certification

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Workforce Studies
• Immigration Policy Analysis
• Human Resources Management

Background:

• The pharmacist shortage is a significant issue in the United States.
• Existing solutions focus on domestic workforce strategies, neglecting foreign nationals.
• American pharmacy colleges graduate a substantial number of foreign nationals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elucidate the labor certification process for retaining foreign-educated pharmacists.
• To highlight strategies for recruiting and retaining foreign nationals through labor certification.
• To present labor certification as an effective method for addressing pharmacist shortages.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of labor certification requirements and processes.
• Review of existing literature on pharmacist retention and recruitment.
• Examination of the labor certification as a pathway to permanent residency for skilled foreign nationals.

Main Results:

• Labor certification requires verification of insufficient U.S. workers and no adverse effect on U.S. worker wages/conditions.
• The process serves as a job market test for foreign national qualifications.
• Successful labor certification leads to permanent residency (green card).

Conclusions:

• Labor certification is a viable, albeit complex, strategy for retaining American-educated foreign national pharmacists.
• This method can help alleviate the pharmacist shortage by securing a skilled workforce.
• Further exploration of marketing strategies for foreign national recruitment via labor certification is warranted.