Study of the social and psychological needs of the pharmacists of Utah

Pharmacy has contributed greatly to mankind since its inception as a profession. In recent years many changes have taken place in the practice of pharmacy and in the role of the pharmacist in his professional work. Since dissatisfaction had been noted by some writers, it was felt important to investigate the nature of the secondary human needs of pharmacists which could have an effect on their work satisfaction. The specific purposes of the study were: (1) to determine the extent to which the need hierarchy, as described by Maslow, was fulfilled by members of the profession of pharmacy in Utah; and (2) to determine if there was a correlation between the degree of satisfaction derived from work in pharmacy and the branch of pharmacy in which the respondents were working. A questionnaire was sent to 500 registered pharmacists in the State of Utah. The respondents were asked to rate the degree of fulfillment they received from work in pharmacy in the social and psychological human needs. The results were analyzed statistically and the conclusions were: (1) the pharmacists as a whole perceived a deficiency in every item of the need-fulfillment hierarchy; (2) no correlation existed between the degree of satisfaction derived from work in pharmacy and the branch of pharmacy in which the respondents were working; and (3) pharmacists who were owners of pharmacies received more fulfillment of the higher order needs than did pharmacists who were employees.