If you have experience as a pharmacist or have more information, please share it with healthcare.wurk.net readers in the comments!

According to the UK Department of Health, there are a number of job positions in pharmacies (pdf) ranging from pharmacy support worker to professional manager pharmaceutical services. This week, we’ll focus on the role of pharmacists.

PHARMACIST

Job Description

• Communicate drug or medicine related information, such as doses, side effects, to prescribers, clinicians, suppliers, patients and carers.
• Analyze drug charts and patient information.
• Accurately manipulate tools and materials, e.g., isolators, syringes, preparation of cytotoxic drugs.
• May be responsible for daily cash intake, security of drugs and stocks.
• Supervise junior pharmacy staff, technicians and students.
• Input prescription information, summarise drugs information, write information leaflets, maintain production records/medicines information system.
• Participate in or coordinate clinical trials.

Training and Other Qualifications

In the UK, professional knowledge acquired through vocational master’s degree in pharmacy (4 years) + 1 year pre-registration training and experience.

In the US, most pharmacists have a PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) degree that requires a 4-year course of study. The UCSF School of Pharmacy has an excellent PharmD program. (One of my best friends is a UCSF PharmD graduate.)

Job Outlook

Employment of pharmacists is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2012, due to the increased pharmaceutical needs of a growing elderly population and increased use of medications. The growing numbers of middle-aged and elderly people – who, on average, use more prescription drugs than do younger people – will continue to spur demand for pharmacists in all employment settings.

Other factors likely to increase the demand for pharmacists include scientific advances that will make more drug products available, new developments in genome research and medication distribution systems, increasingly sophisticated consumers seeking more information about drugs, and coverage of prescription drugs by a greater number of health insurance plans and by Medicare.

Salary and Wages

Senior pharmacists in London – £53,975
UK Grade A – £18,733 to £21,083
UK Grade H – £48,569 to £53,975
National U.S. Average – $68,000