How to be a Pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacist Description
Community pharmacists (neighborhood pharmacies, supermarkets) and hospital pharmacists perform the orders, provide information about drug use and keep a record of medication dispensed. Industrial pharmacists participate in turn in the research, development, testing and manufacturing of new drugs. They develop information materials concerning the uses and therapeutic effects of certain medications and evaluate the labeling and packaging, as well as advertising for medicines.
Pharmacist Main tasks
Community pharmacists and hospitals:
- Check prescriptions to ensure the correct dose
- Fill prescriptions, and to this end, calculate, measure and mix quantities of drugs and other substances necessary, and put the amount prescribed in appropriate containers
- Dispense prescribed pharmaceuticals to customers or other health care professionals and advise them on indications, against-indications, side effects, drug interactions and dosage
- Keep a record of drugs dispensed to customers as well as toxic substances and narcotic sold
- Ensure the packaging, preparation, storage of vaccines and distribution, serums, biologicals and pharmaceuticals and other drugs
- Order and maintain stock of pharmaceutical supplies
- Provide advice to clients on the selection and how to use prescription drugs
- Participate in research to develop new drugs
- Formulate new drug developed by medical researchers
- To test and verify the stability of new drugs and determine the absorption and elimination
- Coordinate clinical investigations of new drugs
- Control the quality of drug products during production to ensure compliance with standards of purity, uniformity, stability and security products
- Develop information materials concerning the uses, therapeutic effects and risks of certain drugs
- To evaluate the labeling and packaging of drugs as well as advertising of medicines
- To promote pharmaceutical products to health professionals
You usually have a bachelor's degree in pharmacy and an internship under the supervision of a pharmacist. To practice as a community pharmacist or hospital, you must have a license issued by provincial or territorial.
Pharmacist Skills
- Strong basic science (chemistry, pharmacology, biochemistry, genetics, etc.). To control the dosage, propose a change in prescription or preparation, interpreting test results
- Good pedagogy to explain the dose
- Ability to manage supplies, inventory
- Control of inventory management software (software configuration, integration into supply chains with suppliers ...)
- Business skills and negotiation skills in relationships with wholesalers and manufacturers
- Discretion (medical confidentiality)
- Sense of touch
- Rigor
- Ability to work as a team
- Ability to adapt to changing technologies and materials
The average hourly wage for pharmacists ($ 44) is higher than the average for occupations in the health sector, and for all occupations combined ($ 21).
Pharmacist Professional development
Additional training in management and marketing of pharmaceuticals dispensed at the university are available to pharmacists. They also have access to many professional specializations.
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