How To Become a Pharmacist – Educational Requirements
Wanting to know how to become a pharmacist? See below for more information.
A career in pharmacy can be promising. Currently, pharmacists are in pretty high demand and unemployment remains somewhat low compared to other occupations. It is worth noting that more people are pursuing this career which can lead to a surplus of applicants in the future. Despite that, becoming a pharmaicst is still an excellent option for someone that fits the profile. Most often, a pharmacist likes studies in the sciences as well as helping others. Though having these interests is not critical to a successful profession, it doesn’t hurt to have these interests.
To practice as a pharmacist, a doctor of pharmacy degree (PharmD) is mandatory. For students starting college, it can take 6-8 years to graduate with a PharmD. The first two years of school is generally the same as most students except that the focus should be on take math and science courses. Current high school students that wish to pursue a career in pharmacy can increase their college admission chances by taking chemistry, physics, and advanced mathematics classes during high school. The requirements of each school varies so you’ll want to get information early so that you know the expectations of the university. Many schools require all applicants complete the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) in addition to the SAT or ACT. The PCAT can be taken while still in high school or in college.
Now that you’re been accepted and are attending college, here’s some of the courses you’ll be taking. As discussed above, math and science classes are a strong foundation of a pharmacist’s education. Because math is used in most other science courses, students should start taking math courses their freshman year.
After building a foundation in mathematics, students should start focusing on biology, physics, and chemistry. Since many medicines are derived from animals and plants, biology is a necessary course. Some specialized biology classes include anatomy and zoology.
Not surprisingly, chemistry is an valuable course. Because pharmacists are constantly handling chemicals, understanding how to work with them is important. Obtaining knowledge of how chemicals behave (combine, split, interact) one of the student’s primary focus . For students pursuing a career in academics or research, chemistry is very likely the most critical area of study.
Management is a potential career that many don’t associate with pharmacy. As the companies expand research/retail locations, someone needs to take care of all the pharmacists under employment. Businesses are bringing in pharmacist to manage. If this something that you’d be interested in, you’ll still need to obtain your PharmD to become a pharmacist. However, taking courses in accounting, management, and finance will also be advisable.
Having a career as a pharmacist can be rewarding. As the average age of the population increases, doctors will be prescribing more medicines which will result in high demand for pharmacists.
You can get more information at: www.howtobecomeapharmacisthq.com
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