What Does a Pharmacist Do?
Pharmacy is a profession that involves the discovery, production and dispensing of medicines. It is a knowledge-based discipline with both theoretical and practical components. It is also a multi-disciplinary science that crosses health sciences with pharmaceutical and natural sciences.
A pharmacist is a health care professional who provides medicine advice and fills prescriptions written by doctors. Pharmacists are specially trained to explain the purpose and use of drugs and can answer questions about side effects. They also help with adherence to drug regimens. Pharmacists may work in pharmacies, clinics, hospitals, medical research laboratories and universities.
In most countries, to practice as a pharmacist, you need a degree from a college of pharmacy and a license to practice. This is usually granted by a government agency. In addition to specialized education in pharmacy, pharmacists must continue to learn through professional development courses and seminars. This allows them to stay current on the latest advances in pharmacological science and their application in daily practice.
The profession of pharmacy has a long history, dating back thousands of years. It was originally a separate practice from that of a physician. The earliest pharmacists were herbalists and supplied physicians with the raw materials needed to prepare medicinal compounds. Later, Benjamin Franklin helped to separate the duties of a physician and those of an apothecary.
In today’s world, the responsibilities of the pharmacist are vast and varied. There are essentially four different aspects of pharmacy practice, each with its own unique disciplinary background and focus:
Pharmaceutical science is the scientific study of medications, including how they work and what they do in the body. It is a multi-disciplinary field that includes such subjects as chemistry, biology, physics and physiology. A basic five-year curriculum at a pharmacy school includes these disciplines as well as pharmacology, physiology and medical terminology.
Clinical pharmacy focuses on the care of individual patients. It is a patient-centred and evidence-based approach to pharmaceutical care that incorporates health promotion and disease prevention. It is a patient-oriented and client-focused aspect of pharmacy that requires excellent interpersonal skills.
Industrial pharmacy entails the research, production, packaging, quality control and marketing of pharmaceutical products. It is a multi-disciplinary field encompassing such areas as pharmacology, chemistry, biology, physiology and statistics.
This article is designed to expose the confusion and fragmentation that exists in the dialogue around defining the term “pharmacy”. It is an attempt to initiate discussion to increase clarity, or at least begin the process of unification. This should allow policy makers and educators to develop policy interventions that are consistent within, and across, the pharmacy sector nationally, regionally and internationally. This will help to unify the sector and enable it to better contribute to the achievement of global health goals. This will in turn lead to improved outcomes for patients. The need for this model has been highlighted by a number of factors, among which are: the fact that discipline labels mean different things to different people; the upward trend of clinical pharmacy and other sub-disciplines; and passionate and motivated drivers for the various sub-disciplines.
Pharmacy is a profession that involves the discovery, production and dispensing of medicines. It is a knowledge-based discipline with both theoretical and practical components. It is also a multi-disciplinary science that crosses health sciences with pharmaceutical and natural sciences. A pharmacist is a health care professional who provides medicine advice and fills prescriptions written by doctors. Pharmacists are specially trained to explain the purpose and use of drugs and can answer questions about side effects. They also help with adherence to drug regimens. Pharmacists may work in pharmacies, clinics, hospitals, medical research laboratories and universities. In most countries, to practice as a pharmacist, you need a degree from a college of pharmacy and a license to practice. This is usually granted by a government agency. In addition to specialized education in pharmacy, pharmacists must continue to learn through professional development courses and seminars. This allows them to stay current on the latest advances in pharmacological science and their application in daily practice. The profession of pharmacy has a long history, dating back thousands of years. It was originally a separate practice from that of a physician. The earliest pharmacists were herbalists and supplied physicians with the raw materials needed to prepare medicinal compounds. Later, Benjamin Franklin helped to separate the duties of a physician and those of an apothecary. In today’s world, the responsibilities of the pharmacist are vast and varied. There are essentially four different aspects of pharmacy practice, each with its own unique disciplinary background and focus: Pharmaceutical science is the scientific study of medications, including how they work and what they do in the body. It is a multi-disciplinary field that includes such subjects as chemistry, biology, physics and physiology. A basic five-year curriculum at a pharmacy school includes these disciplines as well as pharmacology, physiology and medical terminology. Clinical pharmacy focuses on the care of individual patients. It is a patient-centred and evidence-based approach to pharmaceutical care that incorporates health promotion and disease prevention. It is a patient-oriented and client-focused aspect of pharmacy that requires excellent interpersonal skills. Industrial pharmacy entails the research, production, packaging, quality control and marketing of pharmaceutical products. It is a multi-disciplinary field encompassing such areas as pharmacology, chemistry, biology, physiology and statistics. This article is designed to expose the confusion and fragmentation that exists in the dialogue around defining the term “pharmacy”. It is an attempt to initiate discussion to increase clarity, or at least begin the process of unification. This should allow policy makers and educators to develop policy interventions that are consistent within, and across, the pharmacy sector nationally, regionally and internationally. This will help to unify the sector and enable it to better contribute to the achievement of global health goals. This will in turn lead to improved outcomes for patients. The need for this model has been highlighted by a number of factors, among which are: the fact that discipline labels mean different things to different people; the upward trend of clinical pharmacy and other sub-disciplines; and passionate and motivated drivers for the various sub-disciplines.