Pharmaceutical care is the third largest profession with approximately 180,000 people practicing in community pharmacies, hospitals, and a variety of other health care places.  Pharmacists are public health professionals who specialize in the science of drugs.  They must understand the use, composition, and effects of many different medicines.  They must understand how different chemicals work and what chemicals can be combined with other chemicals.  They also must know and understand the laws that regulate the making and selling of drugs.

Pharmacists work in pharmacies, hospitals, or nursing homes.  The main purpose of a pharmacist’s job is to distribute all kinds of different medicines, ones that are prescribed by doctors and ones that are not.  They keep records of the drugs that they handle and they order and store them as well.  They must make sure that the drugs remain safe, pure, and effective.  They make sure that different drugs do not mix with the wrong drugs causing serious health hazards.  Pharmacists make sure that people get the right kinds of medicines and make sure that those medicines will not affect the patient’s body in an unsafe way.

 High school science subjects that are helpful for pharmacy studies are biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.  Also, students must have good written and verbal communication skills.  Foreign languages are not usually needed but may be useful for students who go on to graduate school.  Latin is not essential for admission into pharmacy school.

 Colleges consider applicants who are near the top of their class, but they are also interested in students who demonstrate potential for good academic work and contribution to the profession.

 Two of the top colleges providing pharmaceutical studies are The University of Florida at Gainesville and The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

 Some northeast colleges that provide pharmacy studies are Rutgers University, The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey,   Pennsylvania State University, The University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Suny Health Science Center, John Hopkins University and many other places as well.  One can see that there are many colleges in our area that provide pharmaceutical studies.

 Some of the courses one would take at college are: Pheumatalogy, Endocrinology, Hematology, Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Problems in Pharmacotherapy, Women’s Health Issues, and Physical Assessment and Advanced Pediatric Pharmacotherapy.  Those are just few of the many courses that are required at the different colleges.

After taking the required courses and courses of your choice, some students go on to receive their masters or doctoral degree in a specific area of pharmacy.  A majority of schools and colleges of pharmacy are now requiring (Pharm. D.) as the only professional degree in pharmacy.  After about 6 or 7 years, they earn their doctor of pharmacy degree.  All states require pharmacists to be licensed before they can practice.  To get your license you need to graduate from an approved college of pharmacy and pass a state licensing board examination.  You must also serve an internship under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist.  Most states require licensed pharmacists to take continuing education courses every year in order to maintain their licenses to practice.

There are many positive aspects of becoming a pharmacist. The earnings of pharmacists are good.  The salary ranges from $43,000 to $61,700.  Earnings depend on experience, skill, and previous place of employment.  Owners of pharmacies, managers of chain drugstores, and high-level administrators often earn much more.  Self-employed pharmacists must provide their own benefits.  Benefits for salaried pharmacists generally include paid holidays and vacations, health insurance, and pension plans.  Overall salaries for pharmacists were highest in the West and second highest in the East.

Pharmacists also work in clean, pleasant environments. They can work part-time if they have a family.  They can feel good about themselves because they help people get better.

Some negative aspects are that even though, the earnings of pharmacists are very high, some work long hours.  Pharmacies are open for extended hours in the evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays.  This means that they spend a lot of time on their feet.

During certain times of the year when people are sick more, pharmacists are over worked and there is more of a chance of mistakes being made when making up the medications. In a 1997 study, pharmacists said that work overloads had contributed to 59 percent of mistakes.

Where pharmacists used to spend their day filling prescriptions, they now devote more time to dealing with insurance companies, trying to determine if this or that drug is covered, whether dependents are eligible, and whether one drug can be substituted for another.

Another problem that a pharmacist has to deal with is the doctors’ writing on the prescriptions.   Recently a pharmacist was sued because he misread the medication that was written by the doctor.  Also, there are so many medications with names that look and sound similar, it is no wonder so many mistakes are made.

There are many jobs available in our area for pharmacists.  Currently there are job openings at Quick Check Food & Pharmacy, Robbins Pharmacy, Neighborhood Care, and Hampton Behavioral Health Center.

The employment of pharmacists is expected to grow as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2006.  The number of prescriptions influences the demand for pharmacists.  The number of middle aged and elderly people will increase the demand for pharmacists in all practices.

  Employment in hospitals is expected to grow slowly, as hospitals reduce inpatient stays, downsize, and consolidate departments.  The number of community pharmacists, needed in the future will depend on the expansion rate of chain drug stores and the willingness of insurers to reimburse pharmacists for providing clinical services to patients taking prescription drugs.  Fast growth is also expected for pharmacists employed in research and disease management.  Slower employment growth is expected in traditional chain and independent pharmacies.

As the demand for more prescriptions increases, the demand for pharmacists increases also.  The likelihood of scientific advances will make more drug products available, new developments in administering medication, and increasingly sophisticated consumers seeking more information about drugs.