PHARMACIST registration numbers have continued to grow in the first quarter of 2019, newly released data from the Pharmacy Board of Australia reveals.
The quarterly figures showed the profession has grown by 220 since the start of the year, with increased overall registration numbers across every state and territory.
Tasmania was the only state to record a loss in the number of pharmacists holding general registration, slipping from 699 to 693, however, the island's provisionally registered pharmacist numbers climbed to 77, from 64.
While Dec data showed a decline in the number of registered pharmacists under 30, the March quarter saw a surge in registrations from younger pharmacists - with 388 new registrants under 30.
Q1 2019 also showed an increase in the number of under 30s holding "non-practising" registration (54) up from 48 in Dec 2018.
The March quarter has also seen a decline in the number of registered pharmacists aged 75 and older, falling from 409 in Dec to 379, with the drop in numbers covering those who had general and non-practising registration at the end of 2018.
The profession's gender divide has remained relatively static, with female pharmacists accounting for 62.8% of registrants, up by 0.3% over the quarter.
In the ACT, female pharmacists continue to outnumber their male peers by two-to-one, while Tasmania had the highest proportion of male pharmacists (39.4% - down from 39.6% in Dec).
The number of pharmacists holding limited registration almost doubled in 2018 - jumping to 16 from nine.
Female pharmacists were again more likely to hold limited registration, than their male peers, accounting for three-in-four limited registrants.
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