What it’s about:

Pharmacists apply a knowledge of medicines to patient needs. As a pharmacy student, you learn how to counsel patients, dispense drugs, monitor drug therapy, minimize side effects, and work with physicians, nurses, and other health care professional. Pharmacy is no longer an undergraduate major. The entry-level degree is now the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.) first-professional degree, a four-year program that usually follows two years of college-level pre pharmacy courses.

What the study of this major is like:

Typically, the pharmacy (Pharm. D) major is a six-year doctorate program that requires two undergraduate years of pre pharmacy courses, followed by four academic years (or three calendar years in an accelerated program, with summer semesters) of professional education. The prepharmacy curriculum usually includes courses in writing and speech, biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, microbiology, calculus, human anatomy and physiology social and behavioural sciences, economics, English, and humanities. Some pre pharmacy programs also require physics courses and computer competency.

But you do not have to do pre pharmacy training in order to be accepted into the professional pharmacy program; you must simply complete the prerequisite courses in college. For example, many pharmacy applicants are chemistry, biochemistry, or biology majors, and their pharmacy prerequisites are usually covered by courses they took to complete their major. Be aware that admissions requirements may vary greatly among professional pharmacy programs. To be considered for admission in about half the programs, you must submit Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) scores.

At the graduate level, you focus on the physiology and biochemistry of the body, and on appropriate medication therapy, to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease. In medicinal chemistry (biochemistry of medicinal, immunology, biotechnology) and pharmacology courses, you study the effects of various classes of medications on the body. In courses on pharmaceutics/drug delivery systems, you learn how drugs are administered to, absorbed into, and eliminated from the body. Pharmacotherapy focuses on choosing and implementing medication therapies, including patient evaluation and counseling; risk assessment; prescribing, preparing, and dispensing; symptom management; and evaluation of results. In path physiology courses, you examine the way disease affects the body; pharmacokinetics explores the body’s reactions to medications over time, as well as the measurement of blood levels to determine dosage; and in pharmacognosy, you study drugs derived from plants.

You’ll be trained to dispense medication safely and to educate patients about their prescription and non-prescription (over-the-counter) therapies. Further, you learn to work with, and advise, physicians on medication selection. You also take courses in pharmacy management, pharmacy law, pharma economics, managed care, and pharmaceutical marketing.

All professional programs have the equivalent of three years of classroom instruction involving lectures, discussion sessions, laboratories, and practice-related activities. Integrated into this time is an “Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience” which continues in a progressive manner until the “Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences” (clerk-ship rotations) which occur during the fourth year. During your clerkship rotations you apply what you have learned, completing 1,500 hours or more of hands-on practice in hospitals, clinics, community pharmacies, or other patient care settings.

Some colleges offer a bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences or pharmacology, which can prepare you for a career in the pharmaceutical industry or for graduate study or medical school; but such a degree will not make you eligible for licensure as a pharmacist. Another option is the two-year associate degree (or diploma or certificate, depending on the program) that trains you to become a pharmacy technician. Pharmacy technicians work under the close supervision of pharmacists, performing technical tasks such as stocking, packaging, and pricing medications, and maintaining records and inventories of prescriptions, medications, and supplies.

Career options and trends:

Community pharmacist*; hospital staff pharmacist*; long-term care facility pharmacist; managed care pharmacist; public health service pharmacist; clinical specialist; clinical drug researcher; quality control supervisor.

Every state requires a license to practice pharmacy. To qualify, you must serve an internship period and pass a national board exam and a state exam. Continuing professional education is required for license renewal.

Some positions in research, clinical pharmacy, teaching, or other specialty area may require an advanced graduate degree (master’s or Ph.D.), and/or further training in a residency program or fellowship.

The job outlook is excellent, with good employment opportunities projected through 2018. Also, fewer Pharm. D. degree are expected to be granted than the number of jobs created. The retail sector will be influenced by such trends as automated dispensing and wider use of pharmacy technicians to meet the growing demand at lower cost; expansion of chain drugstores and of mail order firms; and increased involvement by managed care and Medicare.

Source: CollegeBoard 2012 Book of Majors