Easy question, if you are can you describe your job and how you enjoy it? What is your schedule and describe a life in the day of.
Thanks
There was a very recent “Ask the Pharmacy Student” thread. I cannot recall the OP’s name or what forum it was in, but a few rounds of tedious, once-every-five-minutes searching should turn it up.
Ask the 2nd year Pharmacy Student.
You can also use Google to search for a thread.
I’m the OP of the Ask the 2nd year Pharmacy Student thread. So, I’m not quite a pharmacist yet, but I think I can answer your questions.
I have most of my experiences working in retail, hospital would be different. As a retail pharmacist, most of the day consists of typing and filling prescriptions, and checking the work of the pharmacy techs. There is also checking the voice mail to take off doctor call ins. There are also the times you have to call an insurance company to find out why they aren’t covering something, or to get some problem straightened out… Now, that was all the boring stuff.
The fun and interesting parts are helping the patients, answering any questions they might have on their drugs, or telling them what drugs they might need, and also telling them the proper way to take something and what side effects they might need to look out for. We also call doctor’s offices to get prescriptions changed, let them know of any drug-drug interactions with something they prescribed, and things like that. But, IMHO, the best thing about being a pharmacist is talking to, and getting to know your patients, being a part of their lives, chatting with them, and being someone they know they can trust. The neighborhood pharmacist is probably the most accessible health care provider to most people, and we have time to actually talk to them, and we don’t (normally) rush them out after a quick 15 minutes in the office.
Most retail pharmacists work from open to close, anywhere from 10 to 14 hours at a time. We normally get about a 30 minute lunch, if the store you’re at closes for lunch, or has more then one pharmacist on duty.
As for if I enjoy it, so far I do. I’m not a licensed pharmacist yet, but in the time I’ve worked in the pharmacy as a tech, I can see this being a career that I can do for the rest of my life.
Hope that answers some of your questions. If you want more info, or a clarification, just let me know.