Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot dog
How do you become a pharmacist? What is the time and schooling involved? What are the majority of classes in? What is it that should interest you and should you be good at to be a pharmacist?
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Pharmacy is a second entry program, meaning you have to do some undergraduate work before applying to a pharmacy school. In the US, the degree you need is a Pharm.D or a Ph.d in pharmacy. I believe that most people who are in pharmacy school did 2-4 years of undergraduate work prior to getting in. Like someone mentioned, you have to be good in the sciences (pre-reqs are things like organic chemistry, physical chemistry, biology, physics) and I personally think it's important to have good verbal skills. In pharmacy school, we take lots of general bio courses like anatomy, physiology, microbiology, immunology and as well as more pharmacy related courses like pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, etc etc.
To the person who had a friend who hated pharmacy, I totally understand where you are coming from. I know tons of pharmacists who are burnt out and complain about not being "respected" but I personally think that respect has to be earned. If you show your patients that you are knowledgeable and genuinely care about them, they will respect you. Given how busy physicians are, pharmacists are often the only healthcare professionals that a lot of people have access to. If you are good at what you do, you can really make a difference in some people's lives. In addition, I live in Canada and in some provinces, pharmacists now have limited prescribing rights and are being reimbursed for performing cognitive services, such as medication reviews. I think that the profession is trying to take on a bigger role than just the traditional "count, pour, lick and stick".
Also, if someone is truly unhappy working in retail, they can work in hospitals where they take on an active role as drug experts. They can work in industry, doing R & D. They can get a law degree and work in patent law. They can do an MBA and work for a big pharmaceutical company. I think that your career will only be what you make of it, and sitting around and complaining won't make it any better.
I also think that someone else made mention of jobs that female dominated being inferior. I am female, and one of the main reasons why I chose pharmacy is because of the flexibility it provides. I was originally planning on going to medical school, but after the 8 years of schooling + residency, I would be over 30 before I could get a real job. This way, I'll be done school at 24 and will have the opportunity to focus on other aspects of life.
Hehe, I'm sorry for being so pro-pharmacy, but I just think there are a lot of negative conceptions out there about pharmacists so I just thought I'd add my two cents. I'll shut up now
