Pharmacy is an ancient and respected profession. You may not realize that the pharmacy profession encompasses much more than simply dispensing medication from behind a counter. A pharmacist is a public health professional who must know about all kinds of medicines as well as have information about the laws regulating the making and selling of drugs. A pharmacist must know which drugs require a physician's prescription and which drugs do not.
One of the reasons you should consider this profession is that the advancement in drug therapy is astounding. Students entering this profession can expect to see more exciting changes in the next century due to biotechnology and genetic engineering. Future therapeutic agents will have more sophistication than pharmacists are seeing today. Some pharmacy experts are predicting that future pharmacists will individually manage each patient's therapy to that individual's needs. Physicians will rely on pharmacists to help select the precise drug product as well as determine when and in what quantity it should be administered.
A pharmacist's chief goal is to see positive outcomes with medications. These results can include: a cure, eliminating or reducing symptoms, slowing a disease's progress, preventing a disease, diagnosing a disease or alternating the physiological process. All of these outcomes need to be achieved without any risk to the patient. There also is a movement in the United States for individuals to become more responsible for their own health care. That means pharmacists will need to play a role in helping individuals select self-medications more effectively and safely. A person thinking about a career in pharmacy will need to be knowledgeable about the composition of drugs, their chemical and physical properties, drug manufacturers, how drugs are used as well as how drugs are tested for purity and strength.
In addition, the pharmacist needs to understand how each drug will work within the body. Today is an exciting time to consider becoming a pharmacist. The number of people requiring all types of health care services is increasing due to an increase in the average life span and the increased incidence of chronic diseases. There will be an increased emphasis on preventive health services, long-term care, home health care as well as controlling medication costs. These careerists will face new challenges as well as expanded responsibilities in the 21st century.