Pharmacist

 

My little brother is a Clinical Pharmacist so I decided to interview him to get an idea of what exactly he does in his field.

 1. How long does it take to become a pharmacist ?

 It usually takes 6-8 years, but most likely 8 because most candidate accepted to Pharmacy school has a bachelors already.  So, four years for your undergraduate studies and then another four for your medical/pharmacy school.  Some people take longer if they fail some classes that they need in order to go to the next tier.

2. What would you major in during your undergraduate study?

 Most candidate has a major in the science field like biology or chemistry.

3. What is your salary be?

 I make about 120,000 but if I moonlight work on holidays and moonlight with other stores, I make more money.

4.Describe your daily routine.

 I mainly work with doctors to get patient’s their meds. The technician are the primary ones to fill the prescription because the filling process doesn’t  require any knowledge of pharmacy. The main job of the pharmacist is to check and verify that all presccriptions are filled correctly and that the patients are counseled on new meds.

5. What is the most challenging part of your job?

The hardest part of the job is to remember the effects and interactions of different drugs because you the wrong combination can be lethal.  Also, keeping current with the new kinds of med can be challenging.

 6. Is working with the public difficult and how?

No matter what you do you can’t please everyone everyday. Also, it’s difficult because most people are not very educated so when you try to explain the medication, its effects, dosage, and usage they don’t understand. Also, the customers do not realize the entire process that goes into filling their medication so they complain about why it takes so long to get it done. They just think, “How hard can it be to count pills and put it in the bottle!” It is much more than that.  Our main concern is safety first.

 7. What is the best part of being pharmacist?

The job is very fulfilling especially when you know or can see the advice you give your customers are working.  It is a great joy to see the improvement in the clients.

8. What kind of a personality is best suited to being a pharmacist?

Being extroverted with help you interact with your workers and patients. Also you a good communication skill is necessary especially when it comes to medication counseling.  You have to clear and concise in what you want your client to know about the benefits and effects of the medication.

9. What was the most challenging part of pharmacy school?

It  was definitely  the book work because you had to read a great deal and absorb the information you read and be able to apply it. For some people like me, working with patients was easy because I liked helping people out.

10. Do you have to do a residency after your pharmacy school?

No, only people who wants to work in the academia field or clinical setting has to do a one to two year residency in whatever area they want to specialize in. Once they figure that out they can find a place whether it is clinic or hospital or university to apply for their residency.  I decided to do my residency in Minnesota so I applied and got accepted. I was paid about 32,000 a year while I was during my residency.