subject: Educational Qualifications and Employment Opportunities for Pharmacists [print this page] Educational Qualifications and Employment Opportunities for Pharmacists
Pharmacists dispense medicine prescribed by the physicians and appraise the patients about the possible side effects, dosage and precautions if any to be taken during the course. Licensed Pharmacists will have a degree in pharmacology and should be aware of the various medicines, their generic name, dosage and possible side. Pharmacists must understand the composition of medicines apart from the laws that regulate their manufacture and sale. They place order and store medicines under the right storage conditions to ensure efficacy and purity.
Though most of the pharmacists work in community pharmacies and drug stores, they are in huge demand in public service, pharmaceutical industry, hospitals, railways etc to man their drug stores. Pharmacists also maintain drug information libraries and advise the medical and nursing staffs about new drugs. They are also employed as tutors in colleges and universities while some others write or edit pharmacology books and reference guides
Pharmacists are to be licensed and they should have degrees from colleges of pharmacy accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education and examinations.
Students, who wish to be pharmacists, should complete the four-year pharmacy degree program, which usually include courses in mathematics, natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Most of the colleges of pharmacy have admissions tests for aspiring students. Higher studies options include master's degrees or doctorates in specialty areas of pharmacy.
Career advancement would largely depend on the type of work and business skills. Those who work for drugstore chains can become managers, while those employed by hospitals can become directors of pharmacy services. There are openings in government agencies and educational institutions as well where they can take up teaching career or become researchers depending on their caliber and aptitude. Pharmacists work in pleasant surroundings and the job requires them to mingle and interact with different types of people. Most employees work about forty hours per week, but there are part time job openings and self employed pharmacists as well.
Placement services of colleges will provide information about the job openings, but students can also apply directly to companies. There is a big gap between the supply and demand of trained pharmacists, which ensures a bright future for pharmacists.
