How hard is it to be Pharmacist?

Hi Steven,

Pharmacy is a great field. It pays well, gives you opportunity for growth, is changing and keeping up with the new demands of modern medicine. As a Pharmacist you will be part of the healthcare triad - patient, practitioner, pharmacist. But know, getting a pharmacy degree is hard, or everybody would be doing it!!! Im in Texas and I dont know the route to pharmacy school in New York, but let me tell you what i do know.

You usually have to take pre-pharmacy course work, then apply and be accepted to the professional program. Look up the pre-requisite classes for pharmacy school at a couple of different schools. They can be different. Dont assume that just because you do pre- pharm at a particular institution, they will automatically let you in because you are already there. Pharmacy is quite competative!

You will come out with a Doctorate in Pharmacy ( Pharm D ). You will then take the licence test, NAPLEX. You will earn a licence and become a Registered Pharmacist (RPh). It is a national exam, all states take it as licensure except California and Florida. Check their requirements if you intend to practice in those states. All states will require that you take their law exam. Usually you can send your scores to all interested states when you first take the exam.

During pharmacy school you will rotate thru several fields in pharmacy. You can choose to go to work or do a residency.

As a Pharm D, RPh, you will have the opportunity to do a residency, like a medical doctor. A pharmacy residency is between 1 and 3 yrs. You can specialize in a number of topics like: cardiac, ambulatory care, diabetes, pediatics, oncology, nuclear medicine and geriatrics. You will then be able to take the specialization certification test and add those initials behind your RPh and Pharm D.

The more specialized the higher your pay rate.

By the time you finish school, pharmacists in most states will probably be considered "practitioners". Currently, a few states offer this opportunity, where you will be able to precribe and dispence medications for common ailments. We can train and give immunizations in Texas, currently.

Network, get involved in the pharmacy organizations, decide what kind of pharmacy you want to do...

This is your career it takes time to pursue. Invest in it now. It will pay off.

It's very hard. You will spend the next 6 years studying long hours. Your liberal arts major friends will be partying and skipping classes profusely during this time. At the end of your studies you will find a job making $100,000 per year while those friends of yours will be flipping burgers. You decide if your willing to work hard for 6 years or work hard the rest of your life??

Almost impossible right now. They have flooded the profession with new graduates and your student loans will be astronomical unless you can afford to pay cash.