Introduction
The current recruitment and retention problems within the hospital pharmacy sector has prompted the need for research into this area. The NHS Executive director of human resources has also stated that the NHS has enjoyed "huge staff loyalty". With comments such as these, one must presume that there are factors within the working environment that play heavily on recruitment and retention. So what are these factors that affect the retention and recruitment of hospital pharmacists? The aim of this study was to survey hospital pharmacists practising in the South of England to establish their level of job and career satisfaction.

Methods and results
The survey was carried out in 1998 and used a modified job and career satisfaction questionnaire¹ originally developed in a North American context. The response rate was 49% (623/1264). Analysis was by descriptive statistics, factor analysis and multiple linear regression path analysis. The ratio of male:female pharmacists was 1:3, with 44% (67/151) of male pharmacists Grade E or above, compared with 21% (98/460) of females. Of these pharmacists in senior posts, 16.7% (11/66) of men were single, compared with 45.4% (44/97) of females, and 72.6% (45/62) of men had dependent children compared with 39.6% (38/96) of women. Exploratory factor analysis of the questionnaire, using principal component analysis and orthogonal rotation, produced 12 initial constructs, measuring global job and career satisfaction, and specific aspects such as autonomy and satisfaction with supervision. Reliability analysis of the factor scores produced coefficient alpha values ranging from 0.8 to 0.6. The derived factor z scores were used for comparative statistics within the sample cohort, resulting in significant differences between the grades and other demographic variables. Multiple linear regression analysis of the questionnaire constructs produced path diagrams of job and career satisfaction; these were formulated from the extracted factors using logic of causal order and standardised beta regression coefficients. The models were validated using a consensus development methodology to give added robustness to the outcomes. Although the job satisfaction model explained a significant amount of variance within the sample (adjusted R²=0.46, p<0.0001), further work is being undertaken to map out variables of interest that were not included in the principal survey. Triangulation of results will provide greater explanation and depth into the current recruitment and retention problem.

Discussion
This work provides useful information about the influences on job and career satisfaction within the NHS pharmacy service in the UK. The combined use of quantitative analytical methods, together with triangulated qualitative validation, has enabled the production of models which seek to provide pharmacy managers with comparisons of the relative influences of key career-related variables.

References

1. Barnett, C.W. and Kimberlin, C.L. (1986) Development and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Pharmacists' Satisfaction with their Jobs and Careers. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 50,5-14.