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Pharmacists

  • Bright Outlook
  • Rapid Growth

Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. May advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of medications.

What you’d do

  • Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability.
  • Collaborate with other health care professionals to plan, monitor, review, or evaluate the quality or effectiveness of drugs or drug regimens, providing advice on drug applications or characteristics.
  • Work in hospitals or clinics or for Health Management Organizations (HMOs), dispensing prescriptions, serving as a medical team consultant, or specializing in specific drug therapy areas, such as oncology or nuclear pharmacotherapy.
  • Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage.
  • Provide specialized services to help patients manage conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, smoking cessation, or high blood pressure.
  • Analyze prescribing trends to monitor patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions.
  • Maintain records, such as pharmacy files, patient profiles, charge system files, inventories, control records for radioactive nuclei, or registries of poisons, narcotics, or controlled drugs.
  • Prepare sterile solutions or infusions for use in surgical procedures, emergency rooms, or patients' homes.

Skills that matter

  • Active Listening
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Speaking
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Judgment and Decision Making

How to get there

Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

Also called

  • Clinical Pharmacist
  • Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS)
  • Hospital Pharmacist
  • Registered Pharmacist
  • Community Pharmacist
  • Inpatient Pharmacist

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