If you are looking for a rewarding career in the pharmaceutical
industry, you might want to think about becoming a pharmacist. Pharmacists dispense drugs that doctors prescribe for patients. Additionally,
they advise patients on dosages and side effects. Pharmacists also monitor the health and progress of patients to ensure that
patients use prescribed drugs safely and benefit from them. Currently, most pharmaceutical companies manufacture drugs in
standard dosages, reducing the need for compounding drugs in the pharmacy.
Overview
Many pharmacists
choose to work in retail and community settings, while others prefer to work in-house for health clinics or medical institutions. Pharmacists who work for healthcare facilities often choose to obtain training in specialty fields like intravenous nutrition support,
geriatric pharmacy, oncology, or nuclear pharmacy. Many pharmacists also prepare and administer intravenous drugs to patients,
especially those suffering from cancer and other advanced diseases. Additionally, pharmacists are responsible for keeping
accurate records of drugs administered to patients. Many senior pharmacists work as faculty members at academic institutions,
where they teach, conduct research, and prepare students for graduation and licensure.
Many pharmacists find work
with pharmaceutical companies, where they can become involved in research and development. Other pharmacists work in marketing
and sales, promoting their companies' products to doctors, hospitals, and allied health professionals. Other employers include government bodies and public healthcare services.
Employment Opportunities
In the United States, a significant number of pharmacists work part time. Most full-time pharmacists work 40 hours per week with occasional overtime. However, many self-employed pharmacists put
in more than 50 hours per week. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 230,000 pharmacy jobs in the
U.S. in 2004. Around 24% of salaried pharmacists work in hospitals, while others work for retail and community pharmacies,
clinics, healthcare agencies, or the federal government.
Salaries
Pharmacy is a relatively high-paying
professional field. In May 2004, the median earnings of pharmacists were between $75,700 and around $95,000 per year. Pharmacists
working for department stores earned the highest salaries, followed by those employed by grocery stores, health and personal care boutiques, hospitals, and other general outlets.
Qualifications and Licensure
In the United States,
all pharmacists need to have licenses to practice. Prospective pharmacists are also required to possess degrees accredited
by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and pass the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX).
Furthermore, 43 states, including the District of Columbia, require candidates to pass the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence
Examination (MPJE). Additionally, candidates licensed in one state may need to pass a reexamination in another state. It is
always advisable to check the examination requirements of other states before applying for a licensing examination.
Summary
Pharmacists should be practical and methodical and should have scientific aptitude. They should also
have a strong desire to help others. Aspiring pharmacists can conduct independent searches online to find relevant educational
institutions and prospective employers in this field.
Known for centuries as chemists, pharmacists have become as important and personalized as the family
physician for many people. Every aspect of pharmacy has certainly evolved over the last one hundred years. Becoming a pharmacist
has also changed; it is an easy career to get on track and is also a great career opportunity.
A
person might wonder just exactly what it is that a pharmacist does or how to begin earning a pharmacist degree? The answers
are easy to find. Finding a school that offers pharmacy courses is the first thing you need to do. Being confident the courses
interest you on a basic level.
A pharmacist has many duties. Dispensing drugs that physicians prescribe
to patients is the obvious job of any pharmacist. Pharmacists educate consumers about medications. Sometimes a pharmacist
will also advise a physician as to drug interactions and effects. As a pharmacist your customers become like loyal followers
trusting your knowledge and awareness. Pharmacists maintain medical records and medications in order to be certain a patient
is not mixing drugs that are not suitable to mix.
Pharmacist can also manage or even own a pharmacy
and that includes taking on responsibilities such as hiring and firing personnel. There are times when a pharmacist will also
have to supervise employees when in an ownership or managerial position.
A pharmacist's duties vary
greatly and encompass aspects of pharmacy and medicine that one would not traditionally think about initially.
Pharmacists
are trained to be involved in drug therapies. These therapies can include such specialty fields as oncology and intravenous
nutrition support. So if you are looking for an exciting career choice that holds many rewarding challenges, earns you great
money, and takes very little training, then pharmacy is the field for you.
The training you will need
in order to be considered a pharmacist begins with your graduation as a Doctor of Pharmacy or PharmD from any accredited higher
learning institution. You will also need to serve a predetermined amount of time under a licensed pharmacist in order to be
considered a pharmacist your self.
In an overview of what a pharmacist is responsible for it may at
first seem a daunting undertaking. In the long run though the benefits far outweigh any trepidation you may first experience.
Traditionally pharmacists work in community pharmacies. Some pharmacists, close to one-quarter of all licensed pharmacists,
are employed in local hospitals or clinics. Mail order or wholesale pharmaceutical needs employ the smallest portion of pharmacists.
Typically a pharmacist works a forty-hour week. Depending on whether a pharmacist is self-employed or employed
in a managerial position the hours worked can be as much as fifty hours a week. As with any medical field-type position there
is a shortage of pharmacists so there may be cases where the workload and hours worked will exceed what is typical.
Salaries for pharmacists vary due to elements such as geographical location, the amount of experience you
have under your belt, and the level of education you have completed. It would be typical that pharmacists as an overall career
choice earn a salary of close to eighty thousand dollars yearly.
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