Generally, people think that pharmacists just work in drugstores, selling medicine, or that these people who chose Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy as a profession just wanted to put up their own drugstores since non-pharmacists are not authorized to sell drugs, specifically prescription drugs.
Pharmacists are not only concerned with the selling of drugs. More than that, their goal is to ensure that patients receive the right medication at the right time. They also provide patients with proper information regarding drugs they are about to take; for instance, when to take it, the proper dosage to take, its side effects, and how to deal with them.
Pharmacists are also into the discovery of new drugs that could help eliminate the existence of deadly diseases, thus, help people live a longer and healthier life. Although only a small number of pharmacists are into the research and development of new drugs, the 20th century has really shown a lot of progress when it comes to fighting fatal diseases due to the efforts of pharmacists, together with pharmaceutical chemists. Hand in hand, they try to improve drugs by evaluating their effectiveness.
Most pharmacists are usually involved in communities, hospitals, and drug manufacturing firms—the most common areas of employment for pharmacists.
In some communities, pharmacists help promote a healthy lifestyle by serving as advisers regarding primary health care and other health-related stuff.
In hospitals, pharmacists perform a variety of services as part of the hospital health care team. They are assigned various tasks such as preparing prescriptions for outpatients, serving as consultants to the medical staff or purchasing medical supplies.
They may also serve as clinical pharmacists, assigned in the ward units of the hospitals. Here, they are responsible for providing optimal medication therapy to ward patients by formulating special regimens for specific individuals. They are also in charge of monitoring the progress of these patients, ensuring that their formulated regimen is effective.
Some pharmacists work for the manufacturing industry, in the area of drug research and development, while some involve themselves in drug marketing distributions as medical sales representatives of drug manufacturing companies. Moreover, a considerable number still pursue their career as pharmacists in academic institutions, government agencies, and the armed forces. Modern pharmacy is said to be so complex that nobody really practices all of its areas. However, some are really dedicated to their profession that they take up a master’s or doctorate degree to further improve their knowledge in pharmacy. Some even take up further studies in other branches of pharmacology like toxicology, pharmacodynamics, and therapeutics.
This just proves that in spite of the growing number of drugstores, sprouting like mushrooms at every street corner; pharmacists are more than just salespersons. They are part of a team that builds a healthier world for all of us.
