Pharmacists Montana

Growing Career Opportunities for Pharmacists

There's a lot more to pharmacy than putting medicine into bottles and labeling it. Pharmacists play an invaluable role among health care professionals and the community at large.

The world of medicine is changing rapidly, and the new emphasis on preventive and managed care has added to pharmacists' responsibilities. In recent years, pharmacists have become more involved in advising patients and making decisions about drug therapy.

This evolving role has even changed the required training. Instead of a four-year Bachelor of Pharmacy degree, pharmacists are required to pursue a far more extensive six-year program of postsecondary study.

So How Do I Become a Pharmacist Now?

Working pharmacists must have a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. To attend this 4-year program, you need to complete 2-3 years of undergraduate training, and many Pharm.D. programs require you to pass the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT).

Then, to complete your degree and obtain the pharmacy license required by all 50 states, you must pass the North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam (NAPLEX).

Pharm.D. courses include:
• Drug therapy
• Professional ethics
• Developing and managing medication distribution systems
• Concepts of public health
• Supervised on-site training in a variety of pharmacies

Above all, pharmacists must understand the clinical effects and composition of drugs, interactions among medications, dosages to use, and any potential side effects.

Benefits of a Pharmaceutical Career

Pharmacy careers offer the following benefits:

• High salaries, with a median annual rage of $102,963 according to Salary.com
• Excellent and rapidly growing employment opportunities, particularly in retail,
supermarket, mail-order pharmacies, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, and home
care settings
• New opportunities in managed care organizations, research and disease management, and
pharmacoeconomics

If you enjoy interacting with both fellow health care professionals and a wide variety of patients, then take advantage of the growing opportunities and developing role and consider a career as a pharmacist.

Source
Salary.com, "Pharmacist"