The healthcare industry offers a host of career opportunities for those who have a strong passion for helping people every hour of the day and establish a successful career. One of the hottest career options is stepping into the field of pharmacy. A career in this field brings you great job satisfaction, professional growth and financial rewards. There is a growing demand for pharmacists in hospitals, clinics, nursing care facilities etc. To make the most of your pharmacy careers, you need to be formally educated and trained. Below, we discuss about multiple fields of pharmaceuticals and career opportunities in this growing field of health care industry.

 

Career Options in the field of Pharmacy
The twenty first century brings a lot of benefits to those who aspire to become pharmacists. These professionals work in a wide range of areas. Most of the people believe that a pharmacist's career is just about counting pills. This is a wrong notion. Today's pharmacists have a number of job duties to perform beyond just working behind the counter.

 

Given below are diverse career possibilities that the pharmaceutical industry offers. Trained pharmacists can choose to work in the following areas.

 

Community Pharmacy
Hospital Pharmacy
Academic Pharmacy
Consultant Pharmacy
Clinical Research & Development
Public Health Services
Retail Pharmacy

 

Career Specialization
The areas mentioned above are generalized categories of the pharmaceutical industry. Formally educated and trained pharmacists can also choose to specialize in a specific field depending on their job skills, interest and experience. These special career opportunities include Nuclear Pharmacy, Oncology Pharmacy, Forensic Pharmacy, Pharmaco Therapy, Geriatric Pharmacy, Nutrition Support Pharmacy, Psychiatric Pharmacy etc.

 

Pharmacists Job Duties
There is a lot more to a career in pharmacy than just working behind the counter and counting pills. Being a thriving occupation, the pharmaceutical industry has made a great impact on the health care system. Pharmacists are responsible for offering information and counseling patients so that the latter can efficiently manage their medication therapy.

 

Formally trained and professionally trained, today's pharmacists are considered to be expert health care professional. Besides offering information and advice to patients, these professionals are also responsible for handling research and manufacture of a wide range of medication drugs. Their job duties may vary depending on the career possibility they choose. For example, pharmacists who work in hospitals assist the physicians by handling tasks like drug composition, their dosage, effects and side effects. They advise patients on the appropriate use of medications and how to avoid the side effects that drug medications may cause.

 

Pharmacists who are employed in the pharmaceutical industry work for pharmacy companies. In these companies, they are responsible for conducting researches, studying, analyzing and testing of various drugs. In addition, they may also handle the marketing and promotion of specific medication products. Candidates who aspire to work in pharmaceutical companies should possess a post graduate degree in pharmacy.

 

Educational Qualification & Training
Pharmacists who are employed in the United States possess a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. Earlier, a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree was awarded to students. However, the Doctor of Pharmacy degree is the present replacement of the bachelor degree. To get enrolled in a Pharm.D. program, candidates need to complete two years of specific professional study including courses in mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics etc. A Doctor of Pharmacy degree usually requires four years for completion. Candidates who aspire to work with pharmaceutical companies and acquire management job positions obtain a master's degree in business administration (MBA).

 

Besides having a degree in pharmacy, candidates also need to obtain a license to practice pharmacy, depending on the state where they work. To acquire the license, students first need to complete a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an accredited pharmacy college, approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

 

Employment Facts
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, pharmacists in the US occupied around 269,900 jobs in the year 2008. Most of these jobs were in the field of retail pharmacy. Rests of the professionals were employed in hospitals, clinics, physician's office, federal government etc. Job prospects are excellent in this field, with the employment growth being faster than the average of all other occupations.

 

Annual Salary
A pharmacy career does not bring greater job satisfaction, but it is a financially rewarding career as well. In the year 2008, the median annual salary of pharmacists was around $106,410. Most of the professional earn an annual salary ranging between $92,670 and $121,310. The salary of experienced pharmacists can go up to $131,440 annually.

Pharmacists - Education And Career Prospects

www.DegreeAuthority.com is the best online guide to students who are planning their educational pathway. One profession that has promising career prospects is that of a pharmacist. Pharmacists work in retail stores, healthcare facilities and are responsible for dispensing prescribed drugs to patients, they also counsel patients and physicians regarding the selection, usage and dosage of drugs. You can learn more about the various educational institutions that offer a Pharm.D. program as you browse through our website. In fact students interested in learning more about obtaining an online degree and those who wish to learn about the graduate degree programs that are available in most fields of study will find browsing through www.DegreeAuthority.com most informative.

 

Doctor Of Pharmacy

Students who wish to work as pharmacists can take up the doctor of pharmacy programs that are offered by many reputed and accredited educational institutions. They need to have completed 2 years of undergraduate studies and then can complete the four academic years of professional study. Most students who take up the program have completed 3 years of college study. Check out our website to get the latest information about online degree programs to help you obtain a graduate degree.

 

The students who take up the Doctoral program in pharmacy will be trained to develop and maintain medication distribution systems. They will learn how to operate a pharmacy, how to educate patients and physicians regarding the administration and use of drugs. The curriculum will include an introduction to pharmaceutical chemistry. They will learn about the various chemicals that are used in making drugs, how it is made, preserved and they will also learn about drugs that are made from products that occur naturally (plant or animal based). They will learn about the effect of drugs, the right concentration to be used and the various ways in which the medication can be administered.

 

Toxicology is another important area of study, they will learn about the various poisons and study antidotes that will nullify their effect. One other area that they will concentrate on is how to manage a pharmacy. They will learn the basics of economics, accounts and business management. Students who are interested in pharmacy and other fields of study will find that www.DegreeAuthority.com is a comprehensive guide that will help them learn all about the various institutions that offer master degree programs.

 

Students who have successfully graduated in Pharmacy can take up residency training in pharmacy practice. Such residency training is mandatory for those candidates who wish to seek employment in hospital pharmacies. If students want to take up research, they can opt to take up M.Sc. or PhD programs in pharmacy. These programs will have more clinical and laboratory work and will include research. Students can work for pharmaceutical firms, involved in researching new drugs or they can work as faculty in educational institutions. Students need a license to work as pharmacists and they are awarded the license only after they successfully complete the Pharm.D programs. Students need to successfully pass the North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam and the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam, which are conducted by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The licensure procedures and requirements vary from state to state; students need to find out the rules that are applicable in the State that they wish to practice in. Students can find out the latest news an updates about how to obtain an online degree or a graduate degree at a regular brick and mortar educational institution at www.DegreeAuthority.com.

 

As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Pharmacists, nearly 92 educational institutions were offering programs in pharmacy that had been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. 70 accredited educational institutions offered master degree programs and doctoral degree programs in Pharmacy.

 

Auburn University, Drake University, Ferris State University, Idaho State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Notre Dame College, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, College of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State University, University of Arizona and the University of Florida are some of the educational institutions that offer Pharm.D program. Many educational institutions also offer graduate degree programs such as PHD and online degree programs in pharmacy

 

Job Outlook

Pharmacists held about 243,000 jobs in the year 2006 with a majority of them working for drugstore chains and a small percentage of them worked in hospitals. The employment outlook for those aspiring to train as pharmacists is very good, the employment growth rate is projected at 22% which is much faster than the employment growth rate of all other occupations. The demand for trained and qualified pharmacists is expected to increase in proportion to the increasing geriatric population. The median annual salary of pharmacists in the year 2006 was about $94,000. Those who worked on a part-time basis earned around $50,000.

 

If you are a student or a parent, www.DegreeAuthority.com is a great place to do some research regarding the educational opportunities that are available. Many students have benefited by planning their education ensuring that they achieve professional success at the earliest.

 

The recession and the economic lull has resulted in numerous lay offs. People can make good use of the time on their hands by taking up higher educational programs. There are numerous options available for adult learners; it is never too late to get an education. There are many financial aid packages available to help students fund their education. Just browse through www.DegreeAuthority.com and find out what the options available are. You can also benefit by taking up a career test at a website such as www.JobDiagnosis.com. By taking up such tests students can learn how suitable they are to train as pharmacists.