Perceived importance of pharmacy management skills

U.S. and Canadian health-system pharmacists' perceptions of the importance of managerial skills and self-ratings of skills were studied.

A questionnaire asking recipients to rate the importance of 61 pharmacy management skills and to rate their own skill levels was prepared. The instrument was mailed in 2000 to pharmacy managers in Canada. Participants in the Leadership in Healthcare Administration for Pharmacists conference in Phoenix, Arizona, received the survey at the end of the 2001 and 2002 conferences. Participants in the 2002 Department of Veterans Affairs pharmacists' conference in Memphis, Tennessee, received the survey eight weeks before the conference.

The net response rates for the Canadian, Arizona, and Tennessee surveys were 52.7%, 56.9%, and 38.4%, respectively. The five skills rated most important in each of the three surveys were all practice foundation skills and tended to be required by all health care managers. Skills rated least important were also generally similar among the surveys. Only five skills demonstrated a significant mean difference in perceived importance among the surveys. In all three surveys, demonstrating ethical conduct was rated the most important skill and was judged by participants to be their greatest strength. Using an organized system for staying current with managerial literature was cited as the greatest weakness by the Tennessee sample and the second greatest weakness by the Canadian sample.

Surveys in the United States and Canada found differences and similarities in pharmacy managers' opinions of the importance of managerial skills and in self-rated managerial strengths. Also identified were gaps in training.