Wednesday, November 18, 2015

CHOOSING YOUR CAREER: BECOMING A PHARMACIST

image source: www.centralallenpharmacy.com

Pharmacy is probably one of the most overlooked courses in the field of medicine. Only a few are aware of its increasing demand in the industry and not everyone knows the opportunities that are available for the. Through the years, pharmacy has incorporated its expertise into other fields to create new careers. Hospitals, drugstores, pharmaceutical firms, and even community clinics nowadays require the help of pharmacists. If you are one of those aspiring students that are already looking for pharmacy schools in the Philippines to get enrolled in but still have little idea on the duties and responsibilities of a pharmacist, you are in luck, cause today we are going to discuss the advantages of being a pharmacist and which fields suit them.

One of the main duties of a pharmacist is to provide prescribed drugs and information about them. But that is just the tip of the iceberg for there are more than what meets the eye. To start off, they can advise on the consumer’s diet, exercise, and stress management according to the drug they purchase or use. Pharmacist also educates patients about the possible side effects of various drugs when taken at the same time. They also keep medical records and studies drug intake patterns to neutralize some of the drugs’ effects. Given this skills set, a person taking up pharmacy in the Philippines can go deeper into the following careers:

Retail Pharmacist – A retail pharmacist dispenses medicines at drug stores and grocery stores. At the same time, they oversee and make sure that drugs that need a doctor’s prescription are sold to those who really need them. There would also be a lot of social interaction in this field so good communication skills will put a pharmacist at an advantage.

Nuclear Pharmacist- This is a rather delicate and a more complicated career. A nuclear pharmacist measures and delivers the radioactive materials that are used in medication and digital imaging such as MRIs and CT scans which are now common medical procedures. They are sometimes associated to oncologists or those who are on the field of studying and treating tumors.

Academic Pharmacist – These are pharmacists that mostly conduct researches and dissertations about medicine and drugs. They also write articles and choosing this career will require advance skills in writing and researching aside from advance knowledge in pharmacy and other medical fields.

Poison Control Pharmacist – This career focuses on the dissemination of medical knowledge regarding poison and drug overdoses. They frequently do community work and seminars to inform the public about the harmful effects of prohibited drugs and drug overdosing.

These are just some of the few careers that a pharmacist can explore. There are also pharmaceutical careers in the military field and corporate industry. And there are other paths that are patient and disease specific.  Nevertheless, this wide variety of careers only proves that seeking a pharmacy school in the Philippines when signing up for college will offer a lot of job opportunities if you have the correct mind set and right skills to develop. 

Brought to you by: http://www.ceu.edu.ph/