Pharmacists
Pharmacists is the O*NET name for people who dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. The skills rated most useful are speaking, reading comprehension, and active listening. Expect to review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability. The strongest interest signal is Investigative (5.7 of 7), then Social (4.9) and Conventional, which gives it the code ISC. Getting in usually takes graduate school and often five years or more of related experience, a level O*NET calls extensive preparation. People who want research, analysis and working through hard problems usually fit better here than those who need creative work with room for original expression.
What they do
Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. May advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of medications.
Main tasks
- Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability.
- Collaborate with other health care professionals to plan, monitor, review, or evaluate the quality or effectiveness of drugs or drug regimens, providing advice on drug applications or characteristics.
- Work in hospitals or clinics or for Health Management Organizations (HMOs), dispensing prescriptions, serving as a medical team consultant, or specializing in specific drug therapy areas, such as oncology or nuclear pharmacotherapy.
- Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage.
- Provide specialized services to help patients manage conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, smoking cessation, or high blood pressure.
- Analyze prescribing trends to monitor patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions.
Skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Time Management
- Social Perceptiveness
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You enjoy working out why something happens, not just what happened.
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You are prepared for graduate-level study and a long training path.
- You are comfortable relying on speaking and reading comprehension.
May not suit you if
- You lose interest when a job asks for long stretches of analysis.
- You need creative expression to be a big part of your day. Artistic rates 1.5 out of 7 here.
- You want to be working in the field within the next few years.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code ISC takes the three highest, and Investigative comes first here.
Preparation
Extensive preparation. Many jobs here need graduate study, and people often spend five years or more building specialist experience.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Doctoral Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Clinical Pharmacist
- Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS)
- Community Pharmacist
- Hospital Pharmacist
- Inpatient Pharmacist
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.