Pharmacists

[JimmyZip]

Looking online I was constantly getting hits for assistants rather than actual pharmacists. If you are one or know one, what was your/their education and liscensing requirements? Very interested in what it takes to get this degree and liscensing to practice/get a job.

Thanks, JZ

[ChuckS]

Jimmy,

A friends sister went though this program: http://www.uiowa.edu/admissions/undergrad/...rmacyGroup.html some years back. I have lost touch so I can't ask her questions but this guide may help you.

Later,

Chuck

[Steve J]

UT Austin College of Pharmacy http://www.utexas.edu/pharmacy/students/prospective/

[flyingchange]

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos079.htm

[itchy]

The standard now is a bachelor's degree prior to applying for pharmacy school. A BS in a science related field will probably cover most of the prerequisites, but they do vary, so contact the school you are interested in attending.

Back when I applied for school, 1990, I was able to apply after 2 years of undergrad. Now I'm hearing that most have a 4 year degree. Since there are so many more applicants nowadays, the schools are able to require the 4 year degree and are using it as screening criteria.

Pharmacy school is now, in most cases, 4 years for the PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) degree. I live in California and all of the California pharmacy schools are 4 years or equivalent. There is one school (University of the Pacific) that runs all year around for 3 years. I think there are 4 private schools and 2 public schools in California now. Private-Univ of Southern California, Univ of the Pacific, Loma Linda University, Western Univ of the Health Sciences Pomona (or something like that, they keep changing names). Public Univ of California San Francisco and I think Univ of California San Diego. All the private schools cost about the same, I think it's in the neighborhood of $30k a year for tuition. Not sure about the UC schools, but I think they just had a 25% increase in tuition for next year.

Finding a job should not be an issue in Southern California. I've worked for the same hospital for the last 15 years, the last 3 years doing Informatics work for pharmacy.

I think there is a national board exam now. When I graduated, years ago, California, New York, Florida had their own state exam, while the other states had a "national" exam that was recognized. You would need to pass the law exam in whatever state you wanted to work. I believe in the last few years, California has also gone to use the national exam, with a supplemental California mini exam.

In reality, it doesn't really matter where you get your degree from. You just go to the state where you want to work and pass the state board exam. If you are sharp, people will recognize it, where ever you go. If you are clumsy, but come from the top ranked school, people will notice that too. We have one of those at work. Book smart, but no common sense.

There are post graduate residency and fellowship programs for those that want more experience, or specific training in a specialty area. Be warned, don't specialize too much, or you may have difficulty finding your "perfect" job.

If you have specific questions, post them, and I'll try to answer.

Seiichi

[bofe954]

I have a BS in Biology, then the 4 year PharmD program. The Bachelor's isn't required to get in a Pharm D program most places, but it is competitive and you may end up needing one to get in.

http://www.drake.edu/cphs/

The above is a 6 year program start to finish.