Pharmacists’ earnings determination: are part-time practitioners homogeneous in their response?

Background: Evidence suggests that part-time pharmacists possess different characteristics from those exhibited by full-time pharmacists. Practitioners working fewer hours per week are driven almost exclusively by pay, whereas full-time practitioners show a more comprehensive approach to their work experience. Objective: Compare wage-and-salary responses to the number of hours worked, human-capital stock, job-related preferences and job-opinion variables across three employment-status groups: full-time and two kinds of part-time pharmacists. Methods: The study was based on self-reported survey data collected from a random sample of licensed pharmacists practicing throughout the USA. The analysis sample consisted of 411 full-time pharmacists, 119 part-time pharmacists working an average of 30–39 h per week and 78 part-time pharmacists working an average of <30 h per week. Using ordinary least squares, the model estimated, separately for each employment-status group, annual wage-and-salary earnings as a function of ten explanatory variables. Key findings: Responses to earnings determinants varied not only between full-time and part-time pharmacists but also across part-time practitioners. The responsiveness of wages and salaries to an additional hour of work per week drops as pharmacists work more hours. Full-time and both types of part-time practitioners differ in the way they transform human-capital stock, job-related preferences and job-opinion variables into wages and salaries. Conclusion: The empirical evidence reported here is expected to be used by healthcare managers and policymakers to facilitate communication, promote teamwork within pharmacy and foster better relations with other healthcare professionals.