A pharmacist is a medical professional who dispenses drugs to patients according to a prescription ordered by a physician or other clinician. Pharmacists have an in-depth knowledge of the chemistry of various drugs and how they react in humans, and also how drugs interact with each other. Pharmacists must accurately measure and package medicine, ensuring its dosage and safety to be administered properly to a patient. While the pharmacist does not typically select or prescribe the medication, the pharmacist educates the patient on how to take the medication and what reactions or problems to be avoided.
Pharmacists graduating from college today are required to have a PharmD, or doctorate of Pharmacy degree. College students can start a four-year pharmacy program after successfully completing two years of undergraduate coursework and earning a passing score on the PCAT (Pharmacy college admission test). Coursework in pharmacy and pre-pharmacy includes chemistry, physics, biology, anatomy, and physiology.
Additionally, PharmD students must complete a series of rotations in a variety of clinical and pharmaceutical settings. The length and quantity of rotations varies, but the average PharmD program requires 7-10 rotaions, each of which is 4-6 weeks in length.
If a student knows early in his or her college career that they would like to become a pharmacist, one could graduate with a PharmD in about 6 years. Many college students do not decide until later in college or after college to become a pharmacist; therefore, many pharmacists have completed eight years of college.
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