And given the Wagga campus of Charles Sturt University recently scrapped their pharmacy course to refocus the degree on one site in Orange, the challenge to secure pharmacists to regional areas will prove even more difficult.

National magazine for pharmacists Pharmacy News found about three quarters of pharmacists said they would consider moving to a rural area if they were offered similar financial incentives as doctors.

According to their online poll 75 per cent of respondents said they would consider a move to the bush if pharmacy was offered a scheme such as the General Practice Rural Incentives Program.

This program was boosted recently with an additional $13,000 offered to doctors who move to rural areas.

It prompted many in pharmacy to ask why a similar incentive was not being offered to other primary care sectors, given they also experience a shortfall of rural practitioners.

John, who in June handed over his Amcal Max Pharmacy to son David, said he struggled to fill a pharmacist position.

He said rural universities like CSU in Wagga and Orange “got bush kids into pharmacy”.

“It was good rural universities offering pharmacy because we could never get anyone to come to Young,” he said.

“We hardly had a holiday so we couldn’t even get a locum to come in, that wasn’t just here in Young but was the same problem in Gympie.

“And that’s another big change, it’s been dominated by women, all our recent ones have been female graduates from CSU in Wagga.”

He said rural universities were “punching” out many more pharmacists than they had before when Sydney University was the only one offering the course.

“I think the Guild has been concerned about the oversupply of pharmacists but we never had problems getting anyone until recently.”

Hamblin’s Pharmacy had about seven pharmacists come from Wagga CSU in the last 10 years, including their latest qualified pharmacist Amanda Harvey.

Amanda - who’s originally from Markwell on the mid-north coast - graduated and began her career in Young in November 2013.

She officially became a fully-qualified pharmacist last week.

Amanda said the recent axing of the pharmacy degree in Wagga was upsetting but not surprising.

“Numbers had been dwindling since I was there and I feel that it was always a bigger thing in Orange,” she said.

“It’s sad, I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Amanda said she had always wanted to come to a rural area, choosing Young because she spent time in the shire as a child and had a number of close friends here.

“I looked at areas I liked to live in… I did my placement here in third year,” she said.

“You’re more involved with patients, you get to see a lot more because there’s not as many resources, it’s a good way to get exposed and it’s proving to be that way.

“It’s definitely challenging but that’s the fun part.”

- with Pharmacy News