Background and importance Currently, in France, pharmacy students undergo 5 years of pharmacy studies at the university. To be able to work in a hospital pharmacy, they must complete 4 additional years of specialisation ‘residency’. In Europe, the Common Training Framework (CTF), drawn up by the European Association of Hospital Pharmacy (EAHP), recommends this specialisation to improve the quality of pharmacy education and thus comply with the European Statements of hospital pharmacy.

Aim and objectives The objectives of our study were: (1) to assess the areas of activities of pharmacists in French hospitals and (2) to describe their training during the residency.

Material and methods A 52 question survey was written by the French National Federation of Hospital Pharmacy Residents (FNSIP-BM). It was sent to 297 graduate pharmacists from March 2019 to June 2019. The questions concerned their type of internship completed during the 4 years of specialisation, their training and also their first job.

Results Over the study period, 154 (51%) graduate pharmacists responded to the survey. Among them, 137 (89%) were hospital pharmacists and 17 (11%) worked in pharmaceutical industries or health agencies. For their first job, pharmacists worked mainly in various departments as clinical pharmacists (n=34; 21.8%), in a chemotherapy preparation unit (n=18; 11.5%) or they managed the drug supply chain (n=17; 11%), medical devices (n=14; 9.2%), drug monitoring (n=8; 5.5%), clinical trials (n=8; 5.2%), sterilisation of reusable medical devices (n=4; 2.9%) or as radiopharmacists (n=3; 1.8%), as well as several other settings (49 (32%)). Regarding their training, 142 (92%) had an additional diploma: 91 (59%) had a specialised university diploma, 34 (22%) had a master’s degree and 5 (3%) had a PhD. Finally, most of them worked in a university hospital (39%), 35% in other public hospitals, 14% in private hospitals, 4.5% in industrial establishments and 4.5% in other structures, such as health agencies or humanitarian organisations.

Conclusion and relevance This survey raises awareness of the increasing involvement of pharmacists in hospitals. The results of the survey are in line with the EAHP’s European Statements. Furthermore, we can see the responsibilities of French hospital pharmacists in the fields of medical devices, sterilisation of reusable medical devices, radiopharmacy and health agencies.

Conflict of interest No conflict of interest