Pharmacist
Pharmacist
Career Overview
Pharmacists are medication experts who help people use medicines safely and effectively. They review prescriptions, check for possible drug interactions, explain how medications should be taken, answer health questions, and may provide services such as vaccinations and health screenings. Pharmacists can work directly with patients, as part of healthcare teams, or in areas such as research, drug development, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Education
Becoming a pharmacist takes serious science and a commitment to learning. The typical pathway includes a professional pharmacy degree, supervised practical experience, and professional licensing. Program requirements vary, but students commonly build a foundation in subjects such as biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology, physics, and statistics. Some programs offer direct pathways from high school, while others require university prerequisites first.
Future Outlook
Pharmacy is evolving beyond simply filling prescriptions. Pharmacists are increasingly involved in medication management, patient education, preventative care, and working alongside other healthcare professionals. Employment is projected to grow 5% from 2024 to 2034, faster than the average for all occupations. Demand is expected to be especially strong in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare settings as pharmacists take on broader roles in patient care. At the same time, changes in retail pharmacy and the growing use of online prescription services are reshaping where pharmacists work.
Work Environment
Pharmacists can work in community pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, healthcare organizations, research settings, and the pharmaceutical industry. The work combines science with people skills: you might spend part of your day reviewing medications and another part explaining treatment options to a patient or collaborating with a healthcare team. Most pharmacists work full time. Depending on the setting, evenings, weekends, or holidays may be part of the schedule, particularly in hospitals and facilities that operate around the clock.
Recommended High School Courses
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Psychology
- Physics
- Anatomy
- Computer Applications
- Mathematics
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
- Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Time Sharing - The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Verify accuracy of patient information.
- Advise patients on effects of health conditions or treatments.
- Communicate detailed medical information to patients or family members.
- Maintain medical facility records.
- Determine protocols for medical procedures.
- Prepare medications or medical solutions.
- Advise medical personnel regarding healthcare issues.
- Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
- Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
- Order medical supplies or equipment.
- Recommend types of assistive devices.
- Manage healthcare operations.
- Merchandise healthcare products or services.
- Treat chronic diseases or disorders.
- Instruct patients in the use of assistive equipment.
- Train medical providers.
- Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.
- Present medical research reports.
Schools
Belmont University
Boston University
Butler University
Concordia University-wisc...
Duquesne University
Fairleigh Dickinson Unive...
Ferris State University
Florida Agricultural And...
Howard University
Idaho State University- M...
Massachusetts College Of...
Mercer University
Missouri State University
Notre Dame University Of...
Nova Southeastern Univers...
Ohio Northern University
Regis University
Samford University
Southern Illinois Univers...
Sullivan University- Fort...
Suny Upstate Medical Univ...
University Of Alaska
University Of Charleston
University Of Hawaii- Hil...
University Of Illinois- C...
University Of Maryland -...
University Of Maryland- E...
University Of New England
University Of Texas- El P...
University Of Texas- Tyle...
University Of The Pacific
University Of The Science...
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Commonwealth Uni...
Western New England Unive...
Wilkes University
Dalhousie University
Memorial University
Schulich School Of Med...
Universite De Montreal...
Université Laval
University Of Alberta
University Of British...
University Of Manitoba
University Of Saskatch...
University Of Waterloo
Approx Salary Expectation
Low End:
$87,000.00 /yr
Avg/Med:
$137,000.00 /yr
High End:
$172,000.00 /yr
Related Careers
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.