Spotlighted Career of the Month

The Pharmacist

Average National Salary: $95,384

Pharmacists dispense drugs and medicines prescribed by physicians and health practitioners. As such, a pharmacist must possess the medical knowledge necessary to inform his or her customers about the purpose, hazards, and side effects of any drug he or she dispenses. Pharmacists also keep computerized and often detailed records of patient drug use and medical profiles to ensure that patients won’t combine drugs that shouldn’t be taken with one another and that they are following their doctors’ instructions concerning dosage. It is an increasing part of the pharmacist’s job to be actively involved with patients, providing information on prescription drugs, referring patients to appropriate over-the-counter drugs, and advising physicians on the proper selection and use of medications.

First of all you must have an appropriate background in science. You should study or should have studied life sciences, health and mathematics at high school. After high school it would be preferable to do a college level course in pre-pharmacy, as many pharmacy colleges require this. This will also help you get the required scores in the admission tests for entry into pharmacy colleges.

The next step is to take a regular course in pharmacy form one of the many colleges in the US. A B.S. degree in pharmacy takes a total of five years and a Doctor of Pharmacy would take upwards of six years. This includes the time spent in the pre-pharmacy course work.

Pharmacy schools are evaluated to make sure that the educational and professional standards of the accredited pharmacy schools are up to the mark. This is done by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education. You can choose any one of the accredited institutions to do your pharmacy course from.

Once you have your degree you need to get certified by a state

authority. For this, you will need to pass your state's licensing examination. It does not matter which state you get licensed from, as most states recognize the licenses granted by other states. Almost all the states require licensing as a pre-requisite to practice pharmacy.

Passing the licensing examination is not all. You next have to undergo internship under a licensed pharmacist. After you complete your internship, you are qualified to practice as a pharmacist. Remember that professions like that of a pharmacist require you to be continually upgraded with the latest developments. So if you become a pharmacist, your education never really ends. You may need to attend refresher courses and keep up to date with books and journals.

Many pharmacists will start out as employees of community pharmacies and retail chains, while others will work in hospitals with limited responsibilities under the watchful eyes of their supervisors. Starting salaries range widely for entry-level pharmacists, depending on region and practice setting.

Well established by this point in their careers, those individuals who have stayed within the community pharmacy field are managers, and some of them have achieved executive positions within the company. People who have remained in hospitals assume administrative positions or have achieved the position of director of pharmacy service and are in charge of all of the hospital’s pharmaceutical services. But nearly any pharmacist with this much experience can find gainful employment in the manufacturing side of the industry in management positions, sales, research, quality control, advertising, production, and other areas. After 10 years, many pharmacists have enough capital to finally start their own practices, while those individuals who have had their own businesses should enjoy continued success.