Career Overview
Entry Level Education
Professional or Doctoral degree
Patient Interaction
High
Body Fluid Interaction
Moderate
Salary
$124,780
Job Growth
3.10%
Job Description:
Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. May advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of medications.
What Pharmacist Do:
Pharmacists dispense prescription medications to patients and offer expertise in the safe use of prescriptions. They also may conduct health and wellness screenings, provide immunizations, oversee the medications given to patients, and provide advice on healthy lifestyles.
How to Become One:
Earn a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD) from a school or college of pharmacy. The program you attend must be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
Some PharmD programs include undergraduate coursework and are six years long. Others include only professional pharmacy education and are four years long. Students first complete between two and four years of undergraduate coursework before entering those programs.