Job Description

Pharmacist

For anybody who wonders what do pharmacists actually do, I’ll give you a quick breakdown of the profession. The average person thinks of a pharmacist as the person behind the counter at CVS who hands them their medications for their prescriptions. Well, you are partly right, but to get a better understanding, let’s peer behind that counter into what else a pharmacist is responsible for.

A pharmacist is someone who dispenses medicinal drugs to patients and offers expertise in the safe use of medications. To dawn that fancy, white lab coat is a huge responsibility that requires years of training and study of the discipline. Most people don’t really even take full advantage of their pharmacist’s presence when they receive their medication. These people are there to help, advise, and monitor you in your drug therapy. It would only benefit you to ask questions regarding your prescription and health.

As with most professions, there are specializations within that field, but this will give you the most relevant types of pharmacists. This profession includes but is not limited to:

·      Community Pharmacy

·      Clinical Pharmacy

·      Industrial Pharmacy

Here is a rundown of each of these three examples.

Community Pharmacy

This type of pharmacist is also more commonly known as a retail pharmacist. The primary duties of a retail pharmacist include:

·      Administering prescription medicine and advice on safe usage

·      Providing information on drug interactions and health concerns of the patients

·      In some cases, providing some primary care, such as flu shots

For example, pharmacists often dispense pain medication. Pharmacists inform the patient that they should not use alcohol with the pain medication. Another common case involves a patient who receives warfarin, a blood thinner. The pharmacist will likely tell them about the drug’s interaction with acetaminophen (Tylenol) and how it can cause increased bleeding when taken together. Other incredibly common contraindications (harmful drug interactions) include antidepressants with other types of antidepressants or psychoactive drugs. After a patient receives a medication, the retail pharmacist will advise them on dosage and how to administer the medicine. When flu season rolls around, you might even see your local pharmacy offering flu shots, which you should take them up on!

Clinical Pharmacy

These types of pharmacists spend little time dispensing prescriptions, and their duties involve:

·      Direct patient care

·      Conduct medical tests

·      Ensure optimal use of medications

A clinical pharmacist works in settings like hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical centers. Picture these pharmacists doing rounds in these healthcare settings. They accompany a physician or a healthcare team. The pharmacists often recommend medications for the patients and oversee the timing, dosage, and even the type of delivery of these medications. For example, pharmacists recommend that a patient receive an antibiotic intravenously, through a vein. They would also ensure that the patient receives the antibiotic at specific times during the day, like once in the morning and then once in the evening. In terms of medical tests, picture a pharmacist working in a diabetes clinic. This pharmacist could conduct testing on and monitor the patients’ blood sugar levels.

Industrial Pharmacy

An industrial pharmacist works for a pharmaceutical company and their job description includes:

·      Research and development of medicines

·      Marketing and sales

·      Conducting clinical trials

Imagine there’s a drug used in treating any type of cancer. We commonly see hair loss and nausea as side effects for many of the drugs used in treatment. As an industrial pharmacist, the goal is researching and developing a new medicine with little to none of these unfortunate side effects. In addition to work like this in a laboratory environment, the pharmacist can be part of a sales and representative force. They visit medical centers and discuss how their medicines are the right choice for physicians to prescribe. The pharmacist advocates for specific medications and advises the physicians on the prescriptions. On top of all this, the industrial pharmacist conducts clinical trials to ensure that the medical treatment tested is safe and effective for humans.

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