In spite of the indispensable role played by pharmacists, they are not as popular as doctors in the health care system. Pharmacists are lesser valued possession of the medical sphere but nevertheless, their demand is increasing constantly with more and more development of health infrastructure and advanced life saving drugs for end-of-life diseases.
Going by the definition, work profile of pharmacists involves dispensing of medicines after receiving a legal prescription and counseling of the clients in regard to their health concerns.
Pharmacists are involved in the early stages of drug development, studying drug interactions, drug effects, and doing follow-up with the clients to assess treatment effectiveness. These distinctive job characteristics make them a valuable asset in the medical arena as it also helps them evaluate the hazardous effects of drug abuse.
To qualify as a pharmacist, aspirants need to have four years’ Bachelor of Pharmacy or two years’ Diploma in Pharmacy, which can be followed by two years’ Master of Pharmacy and Ph.D programs in various specializations, offered by the premier institutes of Pharmacy.
Given the education and training pharmacists possess, they have been entitled to various job titles to perform various functions fulfilling the distinct demands of the medical profession. These include Quality Controller to keep a check on the drug-use process; Caregiver to offer more than a medication to serve the best interests of the client; Clinician/Clinical Pharmacist to assess clients and guide doctors and other health care professionals to help them prescribe right medications to their clients in drug therapy; Advisor to counsel clients in regard to the drug-intake for the best therapeutic outcome; and Teacher to impart knowledge to patients, students/interns/technicians/residents of pharmacy.
Besides above mentioned roles, following are the other exciting opportunities for pharmacists, including:
Law - Pharmaceutical Company Attorney/Retail Pharmacy
Medical and Scientific Publishing - Science Writer, Editor-in-Chief
Nuclear Pharmacy - Chemotherapy pharmacist
Pharmaceutical Industry – Pharmacogenomics, Manufacturing, Research and Development
Pharmacy Consultant - Long-Term Care Facilities, Internet Consultant, Home Health Care
Government Agencies - FDA inspector, Public Health Services, Hospice and Home Care
For complete job satisfaction and reach zenith of success, aspirants need to have certain personality traits to exceed the level of performance. Along with the keen interest in science, learning potential, friendly temperament, having caregiver’s attitude are some of the other prerequisites desired in a pharmacist.
Against the popular belief, the field of pharmacy has its hands full and with the shift of focus toward research and development, future seems to be promising for the budding pharmacists. On a global platform, pharmaceutical profession has assumed many roles and responsibilities within its capacity while focusing on the single goal i.e. to serve the society.
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