Getting a job as a pharmacist

[Epiper888]

I have learned a lot about drugs since I've gotten into them.

I'm in collage and thinking about becoming a pharmacist.

How awesome would it be if we could go into the job about something we love

 

[Benwise]

That'd be pretty cool.

If you're dedicated/good at school, go for it. It's a long, tough road but if you love it you should go for it. I feel the same way but I'm terrible when it comes to school.

 

[JessFR]

I have a family member who's a pharmacist, it really sounds a lot less fun than you'd like to think. Seems like 90% of being a pharmacist is putting labels on things and 10% yelling at doctors for being incompetent.

 

[ThePharmacist4925]

I definitely have an extensive knowledge of pharmacology including the sub-disciplines of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacotherapy, and pharmacogenomics. Big words, I love them all. I mean even though I haven't studied this stuff in school it allows me to answer questions people have and I know how to ask pertinent questions in order to be prescribed the most effective medication for whatever I'm going through. I know the history of pharmaceuticals and their usage in society. I almost always scare or impress whatever psychiatrist I'm seeing. However, the current guy has me beat in terms of history knowledge. It's nice though, because he knows so much he is willing to work with medications and combinations that other doctors wouldn't touch with a yard-stick. Historical knowledge is so important in understand the popularity and usage of medications. For one due to sever side effects associated with the usage of the original antipsychotics, many of them have ceased to be used due to creation of the so called "safer" atypical antipsychotics. For example haloperidol used to be prescribed up to 30mgs, but it would cause sever side effects that could be permanent. Well after it saw much less use due to newer atypical antipsychotics some research was done that found it's maximum dosage in terms of achieving highest possible efficacy to be 8mgs. At 8mgs you see almost no serious side effects, at least no more than you'd see in an atypical antipsychotic. For many people haloperidol is also more effective than the new medications, so the ability and willingness to prescribe something like haloperidol in a world that is pressuring doctors to use the newest medication is a great tool for a doctor to have in their pocket. So I love pharmacology and its history.

 

[Ignot]

I have an extensive knowledge about drugs since I've gotten into them.

I'm in collage and thinking about becoming a pharmacist.

How awesome would it be if we could go into the job we love

This is immature thinking. I studied to be a Pharmacist Technician in my early twenties. You think looking up drugs on wikipedia and knowing shit-all about Serotonin-Dopamine makes you naturally inclined to be a Pharmacist?

With the amount of drug testing pharmacist students go through, good luck. I hope you stay sober. lol

Let me know when your working side by side with a pharmacist in a Drug Store, and then I will say "go for it"

The mystique of Drugs, will not get you very far

 

[Epiper888]

This is immature thinking. I studied to be a Pharmacist Technician in my early twenties. You think looking up drugs on wikipedia and knowing shit-all about Serotonin-Dopamine makes you naturally inclined to be a Pharmacist?

With the amount of drug testing pharmacist students go through, good luck. I hope you stay sober. lol

Let me know when your working side by side with a pharmacist in a Drug Store, and then I will say "go for it"

The mystique of Drugs, will not get you very far

That's why I asked this question to know further information on it. It was just something that came to mind.

 

[Felonious Monk]

If you're really so interested in pharmacodynamics and the like, being an R&D chemist or biochemist is a lot more suited to your passion that being a pharmacist.

Being a pharmacist is not fun in that way. It's a lot more paperwork than playing with drugs, or knowing how they work. The only good part is interaction with people if you work at a non-chain pharmacy, but if you work at CVS, Walgreen's, Wal-Mart, etc.. you're just a highly paid monkey.

 

[ThePharmacist4925]

I'd never actually want to be a pharmacist, but that's what my friends called me back in the day. Due to being prescribed enough medication to sedate the entirety of North Korea for an invasion, I've needed to know anything and everything about what they're suggesting I ingest.

I'd make a great psychiatrist according to my psychiatrist. Too bad I could never do that much school. I won't pursue a career in pharmaceuticals, but I would consider writing a book about them if I could get my current and previous psychiatrist to sign off on me not being completely useless. They both like me so who knows.