Is becoming a pharmacist right for me?
The first step to choosing a career is to make sure you are actually willing to commit to pursuing the career. You don’t want to waste your time doing something you don’t want to do. If you’re new here, you should read about:
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How to become a Pharmacist
If you’re a detail oriented person, love science and medicine, and want a challenging career where you can help others, becoming a pharmacist may be the perfect career match for you. Personal attributes that are useful for being a pharmacist are typical for those working in any area of health and nutrition. These include a caring personality and the genuine desire to help people in need. Other attributes useful for a career in pharmacy would be the ability to take on a lot of responsibility, work under pressure, have great organizational skills and people skills.
Pharmacy is an evolving profession. Over the years, there has been an increase in new types of pharmacy careers that have significantly improved patient care and advanced the pharmacy profession.
The following is a list of the various pharmacy careers available:
Ambulatory Care Pharmacist Direct patient care and management of medications for ambulatory patients; manage ambulatory clinics. Academic Pharmacist Conduct research, publish articles, teach and mentor tomorrow's pharmacist. Some also practice pharmacy in the community, hospital, or ambulatory settings. Community Pharmacist Fill prescriptions, counsel patients, resolve reimbursement issues, manage drug inventory, supervise pharmacy technicians. Compounding Pharmacist Compound drugs for individual prescriptions to meet patient needs. Counsel patients and collaborate with healthcare providers. Hospice Pharmacist Provide compassionate care to hospice patients, work with a health care team of nurses, doctors, social workers, and counselors. Hospital Staff Pharmacist Responsible for drug distribution in a hospital, provide clinical services, educate doctors and nurses, develop policies for drug storage and distribution, create protocols for drug administration, counsel patients. Infectious Disease Pharmacist Assist in the selection, monitoring, and administration of antimicrobials; evaluate antimicrobial drug use and create policies. Long-Term Care or Consultant Pharmacist Provide clinical pharmacy services to the geriatric population. Review drug regimens and provide recommendations to providers. Managed Care Pharmacist Collaborate with physicians, case managers, and caregivers to provide pharmacy services in a managed care setting. Medication Therapy Management Pharmacist (Personal Pharmacist) Review patient medications, monitor treatment, optimize medication use, minimize cost of drug therapy. Nutrition Support Pharmacist Collaborate with health care providers and patients to manage parenteral and enteral nutrition. Nuclear Practice Pharmacist Prepare radiopharmaceuticals and maintain quality standards. Oncology Pharmacist Selection, compounding, administration, and monitoring of chemotherapy agents. Operating Suite (Surgery Unit) Pharmacist Manage availability of medications used for surgery and post-operative care. Pediatric Pharmacist Provide clinical pharmacy services to pediatric patients. Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Manage prescription drug benefit programs; claims processing and related administrative services; and perform drug utilization reviews. Pharmaceutical Industry Pharmacists Usually involves educating healthcare providers, training commercial teams, developing communication tools, and research. Regulatory, sales, and marketing roles are also available. Critical Care Pharmacist Provide clinical pharmacy services in an acute setting, may manage a decentralized pharmacy, teach and mentor students and residents. Drug Information Specialist Research literature and provide responses to drug information questions. Pharmacists in the Military Provide pharmacy services in various branches of the military. Duties may range from dispensing to clinical practice, ambulatory care, and research. May travel to foreign countries with frequent moves. Home Care (Home Infusion) Pharmacist Provide home infusion and nutritional services, visit patients at home and teach them about their medications. Poison Control Pharmacist Provide medical information about poisoning and drug overdoses.