Q. What exactly does a pharmacist do?

A. Pharmacists have a job with many parts that carries many responsabilities. They despense drugs to patients with a doctors prescription, proscribe dosages, and advise doctors in prescribing the correct medication and dosages for a particular patient. They advise people on the effects and proper use of drugs. One of the things people rely on the most in a pharmacists expertise in the area of medicine. A pharmacist would know exactly how each medication reacts with another, and exactly how each medication will react with the human body. That way people will not take two medications that react in a negative or harmful way. Pharmacists must make sure that the medicine that is sold to a patient matches with exactly what is prescribed by the doctor This is because a pharmacists job relates directly with a patients health and well being. If a person is given the wrong medication, or even the wrong dosage repercussions could possibly be fatal and the pharmacist would be at fault. Pharmacists are obligated to make sure each and every patient is fully aware of exactly how to take specific medications.

Q. How is Chemistry used in a pharmacists job?

A. It is very important that a parmacist has a strong chemistry background. They must be experts in how medications react with the body. There are also some drugs that a pharmacist might never have heard of. By the name, the pharmacist, if he or she has a strong background in chemistry, will be able to tell not only what drug might be used for, but also all the reactions it might make with the human body if taken with any other medications.

Q. What steps must be taken education wise, to be a pharmacist?

A. In all of the US a license is needed to be a pharmacist. In order to get a license you need to be an intern under the aid of a pharmacist that already has a license. You need to then graduate from an accredited college of pharmacy and pass a state examination. Some pharmacists have a license to practice in even more than one state. A college of pharmacy requires a person to have 2 years of pre-pharmaceutical study, and a background in math and science.

Q. What are the average earnings of a pharmacist?

A. Pharmacists that work in department stores make on average $73,730 a year. Pharmacists that work in grocery stores make $72,440 a year, in drung stores, $72,110 a year, and in hospitals, $68,760 a year.

Q. What environments do pharmacists work in?

A. A pharmacist usually works in a well lighted area, that is very clean. A pharmacy can be a very tiring job, because most of the day is spent on the feet. Just like in the chemistry lab, when a pharmacist is working with a potentially dangerous or toxic material, safety materials such as goggles, cglves and aprons are always worn to ensure safety. A pharmacy is generally not located in its own building. The area which a pharmacist is located is usually built into a drug store, a hospital, or a clinic. The pharmacist has people who help them called pharmacy technicians, and it is rare to see more than one licensed pharmacist working at one pharmacy at one time.

Q. What is the job outlook for pharmacists?

Over the past few years, a need for pharmacists has grown dramatically due to the medical needs of the elderly community, and also because many more people getting sick are seeking the help of prescription drugs. The amount of peopple who recieve a license in pharmaceutical practice is in fact smaller than the amount of job openings for pharmacists. This makes the job availability right now for pharmacists very high.