Pharmacist question??

Question

if you are a pharm tech or pharmacist please answer this question. Is it really boring being a pharmacist? Do they even make the medicines any more? Will their be a need for pharmacists by 2015?

Answer 1

I was only an assistant (pharmacy) but, having mixed in those circles for a while now, I think I can give you some direction.

Sure, I think we will certainly need pharmacists well after 2015.  As long as their are drugs, we will need pharmacists just as much as doctors.  Pharmacists have a different (in many cases, more specific) knowledge of drugs (compared to doctors/nurses) as it is their specialty.  I have seen many doctors ring up the pharmacy to ask the pharmacist for advice or, when I've worked next door to medical practices, the doctors regularly come in and ask the pharmacist for advice.

Community pharmacists: They play a major role in the local community.  Very often (I guess because people don't have to pay), the general public tend to see a pharmacist about their complaints before going to a doctor.  Community pharmacists don't general make up tablets (never seen it myself) but often make up creams, solutions - things along those lines (especially if it's a compounding pharmacy).

Hospital pharmacists: They tend to have more involvement in mixing up compounds.  One pharmacist I know worked in oncology and really enjoyed making up chemotherapy (for intravenous) as the half-life can be so short it has to be put together on the spot.  The atmosphere - cancer patients - all became a bit depressing so he ended up travelling the world as a locum pharmacist in community chemists and loved it.  He's young, Irish, and pleasant mannered and had mums offering him their daughters.  Needless to say, his pale Irish skin turned very red often.  No day was boring when I was working with him!

Overall, you need to be a patient person more than anything else.  You are dealing with sick people and, as we know from personal experience, when you're sick, you aren't always the easiest person to be around.  Pharmacy calls for that certain type of patient person.  Good luck with your endeavours! :-)