4 answers
Haley
Student
Fox Lake, Illinois
3
Questions
Asked
670 views
Was it hard to get this far?
After becoming a pharmacy technician , what would lead the path to become a pharmacist?
4 answers
Sandra Merino
Clinical Pediatric Pharmacist
6
Answers
Lake Forest, California
Updated
Sandra’s Answer
Being a pharmacy technician is not a required step in order to be come a pharmacist. That being said, studying to become a pharmacy technician and working as a pharmacy tech will probably give you good experience to help you decide whether you’d like to become a pharmacist, and it will help you network with people who have taken that path.
Your “next steps” depend on where you are at right now (graduated high school? Graduated undergrad?) but ultimately you will need to graduate pharmacy school, which is a graduate level degree. Some pharmacy schools will accept you to start pharmacy school with just a high school degree; they involve ~ 2 years of pre-pharmacy undergraduate classes (ie physics, biochemistry, calculus, biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry), and then ~ 4 years of graduate classes (pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, medicinal chemistry, therapeutics how to treat each of the common disease states, physical assessment skills, patient counseling skills, optional electives such as advertising/marketing etc). Rutgers University is one example. Some schools do all this in as little as 5 years out of high school (University of the Pacific). Most pharmacists, however, went to 4 years of undergrad, got their bachelor degree and then went to 4 years of pharmacy school, often at a totally different university. At this time, to become a pharmacist in the US, you need to earn a PharmD degree.
I worked as a pharmacy technician an average of 8 hrs per week throughout pharmacy school and I felt it helped me learn. I got to have a tactile, visual impression of the meds, meet pharmacists and learn about their roles, asking them questions and observing them in action. I would recommend to keep working as a technician or intern if you can handle the hours. Being a tech is hard work but very valuable experience. Try to get a variety of experiences as you go through school, whether that’s during paid work, volunteer work, research, and/or rotations.
Your “next steps” depend on where you are at right now (graduated high school? Graduated undergrad?) but ultimately you will need to graduate pharmacy school, which is a graduate level degree. Some pharmacy schools will accept you to start pharmacy school with just a high school degree; they involve ~ 2 years of pre-pharmacy undergraduate classes (ie physics, biochemistry, calculus, biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry), and then ~ 4 years of graduate classes (pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, medicinal chemistry, therapeutics how to treat each of the common disease states, physical assessment skills, patient counseling skills, optional electives such as advertising/marketing etc). Rutgers University is one example. Some schools do all this in as little as 5 years out of high school (University of the Pacific). Most pharmacists, however, went to 4 years of undergrad, got their bachelor degree and then went to 4 years of pharmacy school, often at a totally different university. At this time, to become a pharmacist in the US, you need to earn a PharmD degree.
I worked as a pharmacy technician an average of 8 hrs per week throughout pharmacy school and I felt it helped me learn. I got to have a tactile, visual impression of the meds, meet pharmacists and learn about their roles, asking them questions and observing them in action. I would recommend to keep working as a technician or intern if you can handle the hours. Being a tech is hard work but very valuable experience. Try to get a variety of experiences as you go through school, whether that’s during paid work, volunteer work, research, and/or rotations.
Sarina Jackowski
1
Answer
Elon, North Carolina
Updated
Sarina’s Answer
Being a pharmacy tech is really great way to get your foot into the field of pharmacy. If you are wishing to pursue pharmacy school, and earning PharmD, first you would need to complete the prerequisite courses. You could complete just the courses necessary or earn a bachelor's degree and have taken the prerecs during that time whether your degree is science related or not. During that time, you will also want to find people that can write you a letter of recommendation. When you are ready to apply, you will want to study for the PCAT (usually about 2-3 month study plans), and take it. So overall, to apply and get in you want to of taken the prerecs, have 2-3 people for letters of rec, and be finished or on the journey of taking the PCAT. Being a tech comes into play with not only experience but for the letters of recommendation. A letter of rec from a pharmacist will look the best, and having experience in the field shows that you are truly invested in becoming a pharmacist. It can also possibly compensate for grades that you do not feel best reflect you to have pharmacy experience. With that being said, it is not required to get into pharmacist school, but you will want to have another way to show your interest and investment in pharmacy.
Dinah Tadros
Pharmacy Intern
61
Answers
Crestwood, Illinois
Updated
Dinah’s Answer
The next you would do is apply to pharmacy school if you have your pre-reqs done, if you haven't worked on pre-reqs yet, that would be your next step. You complete your pre-reqs in two years and then apply to pharmacy school or do a full four years and get a bachelors in chemistry, biology, natural science, etc and then apply.
Look into the schools you want to apply to and see what pre-reqs they require before starting to take classes so it will be easier to focus on those certain classes.
Becoming a pharmacy technician is a good step because you will be ahead of the game because you are starting to get familiar with the drugs and what disease states they help treat. Once you start pharmacy school, you will become a pharmacy intern, which allows you to do somethings under the supervision of the pharmacist (transfers, taking in telephone orders from doctors, counseling, recommendations).
Look into the schools you want to apply to and see what pre-reqs they require before starting to take classes so it will be easier to focus on those certain classes.
Becoming a pharmacy technician is a good step because you will be ahead of the game because you are starting to get familiar with the drugs and what disease states they help treat. Once you start pharmacy school, you will become a pharmacy intern, which allows you to do somethings under the supervision of the pharmacist (transfers, taking in telephone orders from doctors, counseling, recommendations).
Elizabeth Dean
Special Procedures Radiologic Technologist
1
Answer
West Islip, New York
Updated
Elizabeth’s Answer
4 year bachelors then Med school requires doctorate I believe
Not med school but pharmacy school :)
Sandra Merino
Does not even require a 4 year bachelor's, or a degree of any kind for that matter. I was admitted to a four year pharmacy school with an associate's degree in pre-pharmacy from community college, but I didn't really need the degree. Some schools will admit you after completing the prerequisite coursework. There are even some six year programs which you could attend straight out of high school.
Brendan McCarthy
Delete Comment
Flag Comment