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With the recent growth in the pharmaceutical industry and its ability to research diseases and create new medications, the role of a pharmacist is two-fold.
First, pharmacists must dispense medications prescribed to patients by doctors. However, in order to do an accurate job, they must also understand as much as possible about new, upcoming medications, including how these prescriptions might interact with other drugs the patient is already on. And second, the pharmacist must act as an intermediary between the patient and doctor, and is and important line of defense in making sure patients aren't exposed to harmful drug interactions.
Working as a Pharmacist
| Typically, pharmacists visit with their patients every time they come in, in order to answer any questions and to reassure the patient. Consequently, it's important that you, as a pharmacist, fully comprehend all the counter-indications and side effects of the medications you prescribe, so that you're able to answer patient questions. And since pharmacists usually see their patients on a monthly basis, it's also important that they also keep an eye out for any possible problems or side effects the patient's doctor may have missed. Because of this, it's vital that pharmacists also touch base with the doctors from time to time to make sure that the medications are working properly. |
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| Pharmacists act as an intermediary between patients and doctors. |
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The other side of the pharmacist’s job duties is that they'll responsible for counting out the medications and dispensing them. Attention to detail in this area is crucial, since a mistake in a patient's prescription or dosage could mean serious injury or death. In addition, pharmacists also need to keep an accurate record of the medications they've dispensed and the remaining inventory in the pharmacy. Most pharmacists will use a computer database to keep detailed patient records so that they'll have access to details on the medicine given to any patient at their pharmacy, so you'll need to have some skills with computers and data entry as well.
Unlike most professional jobs, pharmacists may have a far different schedule than the typical nine to five workday. Many pharmacies are open for extended hours – or even twenty four hours a day – to make sure that patients have easy access to their medications, no matter what their personal schedules are. However, the downside of this is that many pharmacists will be required to work odd hours. Usually, you'll find the long, odd hours more common for junior pharmacists in chain pharmacies. If you're working in a small, rural community, you may find your work hours to be closer to the standard workday.
If you aren't sure about working full-time, look for pharmacies that also hire replacement or temporary pharmacists. These are licensed pharmacists who may work shorter hours, or split their time between a few different pharmacies. This is especially common in rural areas where there may be only one or two registered pharmacists. If one of them wanted to take a vacation, the pharmacy would call on the revolving pharmacist to come in and take over their job duties for a period of time. This can be a great opportunity for pharmacists who don't want to work full-time, as well as for the pharmacies that are too small to invest in more than one pharmacist.
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