Pharmacy School

Great career opportunities exist in the world of pharmaceuticals.  There are jobs associated with the development and manufacturing of the drugs, representatives who introduce doctors to new drugs being introduced to the market, salespeople that work accounts to make sure doctors, clinics, and hospitals have on hand what they need, and then actual pharmacy job types working in a pharmacy to include aids, technicians, pharmacists, and even doctors of pharmacy.

Each of the different pharmacy job types has unique educational criteria.  For instance, an aid may need only an Associate’s Degree, a technician a Bachelor’s Degree, a Pharmacist would need a Master’s Degree, and the Doctor of Pharmacy would go with the Pharm.D Degree.  Of course, the time it takes to complete school would vary depending on the degree and pharmacy job types considering.

As you will discover below, the options for pharmacy job types is quite interesting and diverse.  Regardless of the level you choose, you will become an expert in the field of medicine, the way in which drugs are used, possible allergies, and problems with drug interactions.  Although the job descriptions are on different levels, each position is extremely important in the scheme of things.  Specific to a licensed pharmacist, the following are some of the pharmacy job types available.

• Community Pharmacist – This type of pharmacist is the person you would see at the local grocery store, chain pharmacies, and rural pharmacies.  The job of the community pharmacist is to make sure both over-the-counter and prescription medication is being supplied to the consumer in a safe manner.  When filling an order, the community pharmacist would provide information about the drug and give clear orders on how the medication is taken.  Since this job requires a lot of interaction, good people skills are vital, along with financial management.
• Hospital Pharmacist – This is another of the many pharmacy job types but with a little different responsibility.  For this position, medication used in a hospital setting would be the pharmacist’s responsibility to include the purchase of, manufacturing, dispensing, quality assurance, and supply.  This pharmacist would also work closely with nurses and other medical personnel as to the proper use of a drug.  Then, a hospital pharmacist would sometimes give advice to patients, letting them know about possible side effects and correct dosage.
• Primary Care Pharmacist – Another of the pharmacy job types is this pharmacist.  This role is well organized, which involves ensuring resources are correctly allocated and money well spent.  Often, drug analysis would be performed and the pharmacist would work hand-in-hand with nurses, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals.
• Regulatory Pharmacist – In this case, the pharmacist is an employee of the government to make sure the public is as healthy as possible.  This means that any medication being provided by drug companies meets high standards.
• Industrial Pharmacists – For pharmacy job types of this kind, you have a pharmacist that works closely with scientists, often in a specialized area.  This way, the two entities can fight different diseases while also improving production and manufacturing methods.
• Academic Pharmacist – While this type of pharmacist might work for a standard pharmacy or hospital and researching the design of drugs, they also spend as much as 40% of their day teaching.
• Veterinarian Pharmacist – Most people never thing of pharmacy job types such as this but it is another area to consider.  Just as the name suggests, this pharmacist works with a veterinarian in providing medication or treatment to animal owners.

Remember, in addition to the many different pharmacy job types specific to being a pharmacist, there are also and technician jobs that have grown quickly.  For instance, a pharmacy technician is often the right-hand to the pharmacist.  This person would order medication, offer service to customers, print labels, count medication, answer phone calls, and also perform a long list of routine tasks.

The specific pharmacy job types of technicians vary depending on the state and the style of company worked for.  As an example, a technician may be responsible for receiving written or electronic prescriptions, verifying information, mixing medication, choosing the type of drug container, pricing medication, preparing insurance claims, handling patient profiles, and so on.

Even pharmacy job types such as the aid are a very important role.  In this case, the aid works closely with the technician, helping wherever possible.  Often, the job would involve waiting on customers, ringing in orders, answering the phone, taking the customer’s money, stocking shelves, and doing a number of other clerical type responsibilities.