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What is the good path to follow to be a pharmacist?

Hello! I'm a student about to having is associated degree of science this fall. I would like to pursue a career in pharmacy. I've been told a lot but I want the advices of professional or maybe the experience of a professional. Thank you #graduate-school #pharmacy #pharmacists #pharmaceuticals #pharmacist

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Michael’s Answer

Enroll in a PharmD program at an accredited college or university. This is the only path to be a pharmacist

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Allen’s Answer

As both a pharmacist and an instructor for pharmacy technicians at a community college, I have some suggestions for you:
Communication is a major component for all healthcare workers. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians spend a great deal of their time consulting with patients and other healthcare workers.
You must have good math skills, which are needed for figuring dosages and compounding some medications.
Excellent "people skills". You must like to work with both patients and co-workers.


Is pharmacy a good profession? Overall, yes, as long you're willing to work very hard to get into pharmacy school, and work in a fast paced practice. I've practiced for more than 40 years, and I still enjoy it

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andy’s Answer

Be prepared to take the PCAT. If you can afford it, take Kaplan's MCAT program. Make sure salary for future pharmacist is what you want. Get up to date with supply and demand as well as how Repealed or not of Obamacare can affect the future of pharmacy independent practice as well as company or corporate routes.
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Valerie’s Answer

To address the previous comment: To be licensed pharmacist, yes you have to enroll in a PharmD program. However, pharmacy has become very saturated within the last couple of years due to an increase in pharmacy schools opening throughout the country. If you are interested and really want to explore the profession, I highly recommend obtaining your pharmacy technician trainee license and volunteering or shadowing a pharmacist. Pharmacy is a long and taxing journey; following graduation it is a very competitive market as well. When I was in undergrad, I volunteered at the pharmacy at my university to really assess if this is what I wanted to do. As mentioned above, pharmacy is a real people-oriented profession and "people skills" are essential to success. Building connections with your patients, even for a brief moment is important to ensure that you are passing along valuable information so that patients can take charge of their own health. While most people think pharmacy is simply counting pills and putting them in a bottle, your number one priority is patient safety, not the number of scripts you can fill. It is a very high stress environment and can sometimes be physically taxing. There will be days when it seems like everyone is just out to get you and some days that are smooth sailing. You have to be flexible with your hours and able to adapt to constantly changing environments. It is a profession that can be challenging and rewarding depending on how much you put into it. I've seen some pharmacist that only care about getting their 8 hours in for the day and that's it, and I've seen some pharmacist really build lasting relationships with their patients.

Hope this helps and I wish you luck with your future endeavors.
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