Pharmacists are indispensable these days, and they can either work for hospital pharmacies or for private pharmacies. Either way, they typically need to perform the same tasks: distribute prescription and over the counter drugs, counsel patients on drug use and the appropriate dosage, telling them about the interactions with other medicines and the potential side effects and so on. In some cases, pharmacists may also need to deal with several clerical and administrative tasks as well, such as answering phone calls or e-mails or placing orders for certain medications. That being said, the median yearly salary of a pharmacist in the United States of America is of around $115,000 a year.
Pharmacist Salary In Different Parts Of The USA
In Alabama, a pharmacist should expect to get around $117,000 a year, while the median pay in Alaska is of around $97,000, which is under the national average. In Arizona, a pharmacist makes around $101,000, while in Arkansas they should expect to get around $113,000 and in California as much as $126,000, thus placing the state of California amongst the highest paying states at the moment. In addition to this, Connecticut pays them with around $124,000, while the states of Florida and Delaware pay their pharmacists with around $107,000.
Pharmacist Job Description
Generally speaking, the primary duty of the pharmacist is to control the stock of medications, and to distribute them according to the medical prescription. It is also the duty of the pharmacist to stick to all the ethical guidelines and to instruct the patients on how to safely and correctly administer different medications. It often happens that pharmacists also provide people with advice and tips on how to take their medications.
However, pharmacists do not dispense medications alone, as these professionals commonly sell different medical appliances and medical products too, from tests for diabetes to blood pressure monitoring devices. That being said, pharmacists are also responsible for checking the dosage for each type of medication, to keep an eye on all the medicines that are prepared within the pharmacy as well as to check the expiration date. These professionals need to prepare the cassette and dosette boxes for the elderly and to make sure that the patients fully understand the potential side effects of the medications.
On the other hand, pharmacists are also responsible for selling the over the counter medicines and keeping in touch with other doctors and health care providers. They must keep an accurate and up to date register of all the controlled drugs, both for stock and for legal purposes, and they must also supervise the entire activity of the other pharmacy support staff. It is not uncommon for those who work for private pharmacies to also deal with management aspects related to the finances and the budgeting.
How To Become A Pharmacist?
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Becoming a pharmacist does take a lot of training and study, given the fact that these professionals must be well-aware of the mechanism of action of hundreds, if not thousands of different drugs. That being said, a pharmacist who works in the United States of America typically needs to have a Doctoral Degree in Pharmacy in order to pursue a career in this field. Most of the college students these days enroll in a four-year pharmacy program that covers topics ranging all the way from physiology and anatomy to biology, chemistry as well as physics. Moreover, these professionals must also complete series of rotations in different pharmaceutical and clinical settings, in order to get the hands-on experience that they will need later on. Generally speaking, the training required for becoming a pharmacist lasts for around 6 years.
Certification
If you want to become certified as a pharmacist, then this certainly increases your chances of succeeding in this field. That being said, the pharmacist certification is offered by the BPS or the Board of Pharmacy Specialties, which offers credentials in different fields of pharmacy, from oncology and pediatric pharmacy to psychiatric pharmacy, critical care pharmacy, ambulatory care pharmacy and even nuclear pharmacy.
Pharmacist Salary In Canada, Australia And The UK
In Canada, a pharmacist makes a median yearly salary of around CAD$36,000, in Australia the salary ranges between Au$50,000 and Au$80,000 while in the United Kingdom pharmacists can make between 30,000 and 40,000 pounds a year.
Verdict On Pharmacist Salary
The bottom line is that pharmacists can easily get a six figure salary in the USA.
