Why would YOU do pharmacy? (any pharmacists or pharmacy student)?

Question

I'm considering pharmacy, except i'm not sure why i want to do it.

also what types of pharmacists are there?

Answer 1

Im also looking into doing pharmacy when i finish highschool.  Ive talked to other pharmasicts and such they talk highly of the career.  I would think hospital pharmacy would be a lot more interesting then pharmacy in a durgstore or such.  

Answer 2

Although most people aren’t yet aware of it, pharmacy is actually a very diverse profession with numerous career pathways to choose from. Here’s a synopsis of some of the basic types, but this is certainly not an all-inclusive list:

Community Pharmacy:

This is the traditional pharmacist role most people associate with the word pharmacist. They evaluate prescriptions for accuracy, call physicians when mistakes are made in the prescription, and counsel patients on how to best take their medications and avoid side effects. They also help patients choose over-the-counter medications to treat common health problems (colds, constipation, etc). This line of work involves a lot of direct patient interaction.

Hospital Pharmacy:

In hospitals, doctor orders medications for patients and just like in the outpatient setting, these orders have to be checked by a pharmacist for accuracy and correctness before they can be given to a patient. The pharmacists in this setting look for drug interactions, incorrect doses, etc and call the doctors to help them write correct orders. Pharmacy technicians actually fill the medication orders and make many of the IV drugs, which are then checked by pharmacists before being distributed to nurses to be given to patients.

Clinical Pharmacy:

This is actually the field of pharmacy I am training for. This group of pharmacists are valued for their expertise in the drug knowledge and in using drugs for the therapy of diseases (called pharmacotherapy). This group of pharmacists often make rounds with the physicians and make recommendations about each patient’s drug therapy and answer questions that physicians have about drugs. There are a huge number of different specialties in this area (much like in medicine): cardiology, critical care, geriatrics, infectious diseases (this is the field in which I will be a specialist), internal medicine, nuclear pharmacy, nutrition, oncology, pediatrics, etc. These specialized fields often require residency training after graduation of pharmacy school.

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy:

This field actually falls under clinical pharmacy, but is a little bit different in how it is practiced. Ambulatory Care (Am-Care) pharmacists work in various outpatient clinics and help manage patients chronic disease states (commonly diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol etc) under a physician’s supervision. The pharmacists will work at places like the VA, interview patients, and then make changes to their medication regimens under an established protocol with a physician. It’s very similar to being a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant (PA).

Industry Pharmacy:

There are pharmacists that work for drug companies that help design drugs and drug delivery systems (i.e. the specific formulations for the tablets or injection solutions), help design and execute studies and clinical trials on new drugs, and serve to answer questions that come into the drug company from physicians and pharmacists.

Academia:

Some pharmacists choose to become professors at various colleges of pharmacy and find fulfillment in teaching the next generation of pharmacists. Many of them also practice as clinical pharmacists while   serving as a professors.

There are numerous reasons to choose to be a pharmacists: the most important is probably caring for patients by making sure they get the best results from their medications. It has frequently topped the list of most trusted profession in the US and has been listed in the top 10 best careers to go into (job security, salary etc).

Here are some links where you can find more information:

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy has information for students thinking about pursuing pharmacy as a career (including a top 10 list of reasons, information about the role of pharmacists in healthcare, job outlook, etc)

http://www.aacp.org/site/page.asp?VID=1&...

Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education has the list of the accredited pharmacy school programs (and links to each school’s website) in the US:

http://www.acpe-accredit.org/students/pr...

Although this answer is already pretty long (sorry), I have chosen to become an Infectious Disease Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. My satisfaction comes (or at least it will once my training is finished) from being an expert in the field of infectious diseases and antibiotics and being able to apply that knowledge to curing diseases in my patients. Choosing drugs and doses in many of these patients can be very complex and often physicians are glad to have the help of pharmacists especially when you have unusual bacteria that are resistant to most drugs,a patient whose kidneys aren't working and who's on artificial kidney machines that affect the way the drugs act in the body. Part of my job is helping make sure physicians use the right antibiotics so that bacteria will not continue to become resistant to more and more antibiotics. I am doing my part to help protect the patients of the future as well as those of today.

Good luck in your career search!

Brandon

Answer 3

starting pay 75000 yr. not bad for filling RX , doesn't seem to stressful of a job either.