A doctor diagnoses your illness and prescribes the appropriate treatment method through medication. Then comes the pharmacist’s role to read the prescription correctly, provide you the medicine, and guide you on how to take them.
Pharmacists are not doctors but have extensive knowledge of prescription medicines, how to take them, how they function, and how these might react in some situations.
From working behind glass frames at a local pharmacy to preparing medication in hospitals, pharmacists perform different roles. Moreover, the career is respected and compensated well.
Do you aspire to become a pharmacist? Let’s take a comprehensive look at the ins and outs of it.
What is a Pharmacist’s job?
Pharmacists are advanced medical professionals on the front lines of providing individuals with proper drug and therapeutic treatments for all sorts of health issues.
They hold the challenging responsibility of checking overall prescriptions to ensure accuracy and safe practices.
They work closely with the public, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies. However, their job roles and responsibilities can vary based on where they work. It could be at a hospital, a retail pharmacy, or a private clinic with a doctor.
Typically their duties include:
These are some of the duties of a pharmacist while their roles keep evolving as the healthcare sector grows over time.
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How to become a Pharmacist?
Working as a pharmacist requires having a pharmacist license, and there are some education and testing requirements to obtain the license.
The steps to fulfilling the requirements may vary based on your state, but the basic requirements are the same and discussed as follows:
Aspiring pharmacists have two different paths to follow to complete their educational requirements. The first option is to complete undergraduate coursework and then move into a graduate program.
The second path has a combined option that incorporates all coursework into one program. Thankfully, many pharmacy schools offer dual degree programs that let you earn your bachelor’s degree alongside your PharmD (doctor of pharmacy) over a period of six to seven years.
And, you can only enter these programs when you have a high school diploma. However, these programs only accept students who have studied biology, chemistry, or other related subjects in their bachelor’s degrees.
Moreover, having prior experience as a pharmacy assistant or technician also helps in securing admission at a reputed school.
Clearing PCAT or Pharmacy College Admissions Test is mandatory to get into the majority of pharmacy programs across the country. The test is divided into different multiple-choice questions that cover various topics.
Every school has its own passing criteria for admission.
A typical PharmD program requires you to study certain credit hours in your course work and complete a formal pharmacy internship.
Students study the following subjects:
Pharmacists need to undertake the license exam after completing their PharmD program. Depending on the state of your residence, you’ll need to take one of the following two licensing exams:
Your state’s licensing board will inform you about the exam you need to take before starting your practice.
Once you pass the license exam, you may apply for your pharmacist license. But, you might need to fulfill a few more requirements like:
This might seem like a hassle, but you instantly boost your employment opportunities once you obtain the license.
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Where do Pharmacists work?
Once pharmacists acquire their license, they can work in a number of different settings. A few examples are:
Hospitals: Hospitals hire pharmacists and get them to prepare medicines for their currently admitted patients. Such pharmacists consult with doctors, work with paramedics and nurses, prepare injections, and ensure accurate dosage.
Retail Pharmacies: Retail pharmacies are the biggest employment source for most pharmacists and include independent pharmacies.
Government or Military Facilities: Govt. or Military setups hire pharmacists for different reasons. They might conduct community wellness programs to educate people or conduct general health checkups. They might also work in military hospitals to handle onsite medication.
Research Labs: Pharmacists specializing in certain areas can be employed by research laboratories to work on new inventions.
Private Clinics: Clinic also might hire pharmacists for various jobs like cholesterol testing, vaccine shots, and patient education. Clinics are likely to be an increasingly common employer for both pharmacists and pharmacy techs in the future.
What is Pharmacist’s Career Outlook? How much do they earn?
Finally, let’s get to the hot question about a pharmacist’s earning and income potential.
The median yearly pay for pharmacists in the United States is $128,710 per year. The top 10 percent of earners in this field make more than $145,910, and the lowest 10 percent earn less than $89,280 that year. These numbers demonstrate that it is a highly lucrative and well-compensated field.
Shockingly, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 2% decline in pharmacists’ employment from 2020 to 2030.
However, despite declining employment, about 11,300 job openings for pharmacists are projected each year, on average, over the decade. These openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations and exit the labor force through retirement.
This means that becoming a pharmacist would not force you totally out of the competition despite the falling trend. If you work on your skills, perform well in internships, and score high in the license exam, you can easily boost your chances of being hired.
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