Young Pharmacists in Portugal
by Ema Paulino, RPh

I am Ema Paulino and I am, by definition, a young pharmacist in Portugal. I have graduated in 2001 and am now 26 years old. I work at my own community pharmacy.

In fact, the majority of young pharmacists in Portugal pursue careers in community pharmacy. This may be because legislation still restricts pharmacy ownership to pharmacists and also because pharmacies in Portugal are making an effort to have at least two pharmacists working in each pharmacy. However, many find jobs in the pharmaceutical industry, where they can choose between drug registration, marketing, quality assurance and production, although production in Portugal has been decreasing quite a lot over the last few years. Hospitals, laboratories and wholesalers are other career opportunities still attracting many pharmacists. Alternative career opportunities are also available, but are not so well explored.

New challenges – like quality certification for community pharmacies and laboratories, compulsory continuing education and an examination to be accepted by the Royal Society as a professional – present themselves to pharmacists now.

Furthermore, for a long time there were only three faculties of pharmacy in Portugal. This meant that a low number of pharmacists graduated each year and therefore the professional market was eager to receive them at various sites. In a period of only six years, four other faculties started to offer students the course of pharmaceutical sciences.

For now, it seems there is still plenty of work for young pharmacists. However, studies predict that in the near future, being a recent graduate in pharmacy will not directly mean that you will have a job. Only future will tell…