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Who is a Pharmacist?
It is easy to get a thousand prescriptions, but hard to get one single remedy ~ Chinese Proverb
A pharmacist is one of the crucial job roles across the world. He or she plays an important role in developing and handling medicines to the general public. The workplace of pharmacists includes a hospital setting, and a community setting, for example, a pharmacy. Interested candidates can pursue various courses, such as pharmacy, applied pharmacology, biopharmaceutics, clinical pharmacy, industrial pharmacy, and pharmaceutics.
A Pharmacist also advises physicians about medication therapy. A career as a pharmacist involves aligning with health facilities, private doctors, clinics, and every pharmaceutical organisation. A Pharmacist also reviews for safety levels of newly manufactured drugs, recommendations on drugs with proper diets, medication or no prescription medicines, and also advises the suitable type of medicines such as pills, vaccines, injections, ointments, and syrups.
Quick Facts for Pharmacist
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Industry
Healthcare
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Average Salary in India
₹20500
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Suitable for
Male, Female, Others
A career as a pharmacist is not inherently sexual orientation-specific. Men, women, and anyone else can choose it as their own occupation. In addition, it would indicate that sexuality has no impact on employment. A career as a pharmacist is a male-dominated career. Women can also opt for this career as there is not any gender-based restriction in this career.
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Any special needs
Yes
A career as a pharmacist is suitable for candidates with special needs, provided, that the disability does not affect the functioning of the professional. As long as the disability is not interfering with the daily tasks that need to be performed, individuals with special needs can become pharmacists.
Table of Contents for Pharmacist
What is the role of Pharmacist?
The role of a pharmacist in the treatment of a patient is as important as a doctor’s role. A Pharmacist is also responsible for bringing new medication to different medical professionals. By interacting with medical practitioners and distributors for any adverse reactions, symptoms, and allergies, he or she researches and tracks all medications and commodities with consumer surveys.
Pharmacists regulate drugs and guide treatments.
They coordinate and direct workflow, check prescriptions and manage costs.
Pharmacists have pharmaceutical understanding and involvement in medical programs.
They supervise compliance with federal and state drug laws.
Pharmacists serve patients by planning and providing medications.
They maintain databases, eliminate expired medicines, and train pharmacy staff.
Types of a Pharmacist
Pharmacists play pivotal roles in healthcare across various domains. Hospital pharmacists manage safe medication use in clinical settings. Clinical pharmacists collaborate with healthcare teams to optimise patient outcomes. Pharmaceutical researchers explore innovative drug solutions. Regulatory pharmacists navigate drug approvals and compliance. In this section, we have mentioned few types of Pharmacist and related career options of it.
Bio Chemist: A biochemist is a research professional involved in the study of the physical principles of living things and biological processes such as cell development, growth, heredity, and diseases. He or she conducts experiments to alter the properties of DNA, RNA, and cells to study various diseases and develop medicines to cure them.
Chemist: A chemist researches and designs processes that include oil refining, and petrochemical processes that reduce pollution and use of energy. He or she may specialise in various areas of chemistry such as analytical, physical and theoretical, macromolecular, medical, organic, medical, and material chemistry.
Medical Sales Representative: Medical sales representatives are liable for marketing a company's products to consumers, physicians, pharmacists, and nurses, including medications, prescription medication, and medical equipment.
Clinical Research Coordinator: Clinical research associates support providing plans and tracking clinical trials of experimental medications to determine their advantages and risks. A Clinical research coordinator is also a related job role to a career as a pharmacist.
Drug Inspector: A drug inspector seems to be a professional in evaluating the effectiveness, reliability, and safety of medication from its manufacture until the sale. He or she audits pharmaceutical shops and collects samples to confirm if synthetic drugs actually exist. It is a senior-level role in a career as a pharmacist.
Regulatory Affairs Officer: A Regulatory Affairs officer functions for clinical, pharmaceutical, testing, and other manufacturers of medicines to guarantee that the products of their organisation follow legal requirements. It is one of the reputed job roles in a career as a pharmacist.
What is the workplace/work environment of Pharmacist like?
An individual with a degree in pharmacology specialisation works for drugs for Pharmacy Industry research and development. A Pharmacist involved in testing, examining and modifying drugs established according to Pharmacy Regulations standards.. A Pharmacist is typically employed mainly in neighbourhood pharmacies like those in grocery stores and pharmacy stores.
Does Pharmacist require travelling?
Not Likely
A career as a pharmacist does not require travelling much, unless and until there is an emergency. He or she spends their working hours in pharmaceutical firms, hospitals, physician offices, and speciality clinics.
Time Pressure
Likely
A career as a pharmacist involves working under time pressure and tight deadlines. Apart from performing their research and work, pharmacists are also required to supervise and verify the work done by their team members.
How to become a Pharmacist?
Steps to become a Pharmacist
If you are interested in studying or researching all about medicines, then a career as a Pharmacist is the best career option for you. We have mentioned below the steps for how to become a Pharmacist. Read the complete article to know what is a Pharmacist and how to become a Pharmacist in India or how to become a Pharmacist after 12th in India.
What are the skills and qualities required to become a/an Pharmacist?
To make a career as a pharmacist one must possess some skills. Some skills required by a pharmacist are mentioned below:
Accuracy: As far as the pharmaceutical industry is concerned, an eye for detail is practically a matter of survival, so there is no scope for mistake. Whereas human beings make errors naturally, the repercussions do not reside exclusively with the pharmacist, for example, the wrong form of insulin may be utterly devastating to a patient with diabetes.
Communication Skills: These are some of the essential aspects of a career as a pharmacist. It requires strong communication skills to prescribe medicines to patients without any error, and afterwards check their knowledge of it. It might also be difficult to understand why a patient requires a particular medication and identify the adverse health effects.
Craft Knowledge: Considering the work's fast-paced nature, pharmacists could take the time to properly describe a patient's prescription to them and explain the larger impact it could have on their lives.
Multitasking: Pharmacists are busy conducting activities that may have consequences of life or death, they are often responding to requests, communicating with other patients, and maintaining certain administrative protocols that are observed.
Analytical Skills: Pharmacists should pursue their work with an objective mind and, when possible, refer to the relevant references, and also take a rational and sensible approach to any choices they make about medication for a patient.
Mathematical Skills: Pharmacists require strong mathematical skills. It may sound strange, but sometimes people underestimate how much pharmacists depend on knowledge of science and mathematics. Numerical skills are important, starting with something as basic as measuring how many tablets a patient requires to figure out more complex variable dosages.
Managerial Skills: A career as a pharmacist requires managing skills to multitask. Depending on the position of employment and the system in place, a pharmacist may be responsible for coordinating technicians and vending machines as well as handling expenditures, controlling stock levels, and ensuring accurate documentation.
Interpersonal Management: Pharmacists are required to figure out how to manage doctors who don't like being challenged, and anxious patients who are concerned regarding sitting for their prescriptions, mastering communication skills requires dedication, patience, and a great personality.
Supervisory Skills: Pharmacists would have to be able to educate the junior pharmacists and also pharmacy technicians and pass their expertise and experience on.
Which certifications and internships can be helpful in becoming Pharmacist?
We have mentioned below various certifications that Pharmacists can opt to upgrade their skills.
Internship Availability
One can start with internships to establish a successful career as a pharmacist. A large number of internships are easily accessible in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. Various organisations, hospitals, and pharmacies with adequate skills and abilities employ interns. The online recruiting portals help one to discover internship opportunities. Through internships, the participants get hands-on knowledge as well as experience. Moreover, higher education institutions and private nursing homes and pharmacies offer internship opportunities.
Pharmacist Jobs and Salaries
Junior Pharmacist
- Average Salary 16000
Job Description
The Junior Pharmacist job description includes providing medications to people as prescribed, monitoring the customer's therapies and advice interventions. A Junior Pharmacist also explains the side effects of medication and instructs how and when to consume it.
Salary Description
An entry-level Pharmacist's salary in India ranges between Rs 0.2 Lakhs to Rs 3.5 Lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 2.0 Lakhs per annum. Junior Pharmacist salary in India may vary depending on the various job factors like skills and experience of the candidates, job location, and others.
Salary Source: AmbitionBox
Senior Pharmacist
- Average Salary 25000
Job Description
The Senior Pharmacist job description includes reviewing medications, bringing new medication to different medical professionals and ensuring the safety levels of the medications. A Senior Pharmacist is responsible for researching and tracking all medications and commodities with consumer surveys.
Salary Description
The estimated Pharmacist salary in India ranges from Rs 1.6 Lakhs to Rs 4.5 Lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 3.0 Lakhs per annum. Senior Pharmacist salary may vary depending on the various job factors.
Salary Source: AmbitionBox
What is the job outlook for Pharmacist?
In India, the pharmaceutical sector is rising at a faster rate, marked by a series of mergers and acquisitions and an increase in foreign direct investment. Indian pharmaceutical development has been at a faster rate. The factor behind this is related to the globalization, democratisation, and modernisation of the Indian economy and partly due to an increasing rate of the ageing population and modern medical and diagnostic technologies.
Chemical research may have been accomplished by identifying new medicines or by developing them. A pharmacy career in India has lots of scope in different parts of the country such as Chennai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Noida, and Gurgaon. India's pharmaceutical industry is the most mature and innovative among both developed and developing countries.
Frequently Asked Questions for Pharmacist
Que. Where does a pharmacist work?
Ans.Many pharmacists are working in the retail or hospital environment. Yet pharmacists may also operate in many other environments, including nursing homes, outpatient infusion facilities, hospitals, pharmaceutical firms, or in healthcare policy.
Que. Is pharmacy a dying career?
Ans.In countries where the field of pharmacy is mismanaged, it is a dying occupation that restricts its obligations and transfers them to physicians. Patients with diseases see their pharmacists for diagnosis, as applicable to their physicians.
Que. What are the duties of a pharmacist?
Ans.Serve patients by planning drugs, providing the multidisciplinary health care team with pharmacological knowledge, and tracking drug therapies for patients, Prepare medications by studying and reading instructions from doctors and finding medical incompatibilities.
Que. What are the hot topics of hospital pharmacy?
Ans.Palliative care and drug information are hot topics in hospital pharmacies.
Que. What does a pharmacy assistant require to do?
Ans.A pharmacy assistant's job duties include running the cash register, managing money transfers, answering phone calls, and performing pharmacy clerical work. Pharmacy assistants also support licensed pharmacists in marketing and delivering medicine to customers in drug stores at speciality pharmacies.
Que. What are the top pharmacy colleges in India?
Ans.Some of the top pharmacy colleges of India are Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Jamia Hamdard, Madras Medical College, Jadavpur University and Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai.
Que. What is a Pharmacist?
Ans.A Pharmacist is a health care professional specialising in the administration of medication and its usage. He or she plays a vital role in developing and handing medicines to the general public.
Que. How to become pharmacist in government hospital?
Ans.Candidates must complete their graduate and internship and must also have registration with the State Medical Council and Indian Medical Council after they are eligible they can visit to the government's official website and apply.
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Did you know?
Fact 1
John Pemberton, a pharmacist invented Coca Cola.
Fact 2
The worth of global pharmaceuticals market is 300 billion dollars.
Fact 3
Benjamin Franklin, one of founding fathers of United States was a pharmacist.
Fact 4
The best selling drug of all time is Lipitor.
Fact 5
The most prescribed drug of United States is Acetaminophen.
