Pharmacist Career Overview

Pharmacists are responsible for distributing prescription drugs to patients and teaching them how to properly use their medications. They keep a careful watch on patients to make sure they are using their prescriptions properly. They also instruct doctors on the side effects, dosages, selection, and interactions of certain medications. Pharmacists have a good understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of each drug as well as the clinical effects and proper uses. They are usually employed by a hospital, health clinic, drugstore, mental health institution, or nursing home.
Because pharmacists are knowledgeable about drugs, patients often come to them with questions about their prescriptions including the possibility of dangerous interactions of certain drugs and their potential side effects. Pharmacists also offer advice concerning stress management, eating habits, exercise, and healthcare supplies and equipment. They also answer questions about over-the counter drugs and help a customer decide which drug is right for them. Some pharmacists acquire a certification allowing them give vaccinations. This allows them to provide vaccines, such as the flu shot, to the public. Paperwork, including insurance forms, is often completed by pharmacists. In some pharmacies, programs are offered to help people with certain diseases, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, to better manage their condition. Pharmacists who own their own pharmacy are responsible for managing, hiring, and supervising.
Pharmacists have the authority to purchase medical supplies, concoct sterile solutions, offer advice to other healthcare and medical workers, and dispense medications. They sometimes create drug programs for patients where they assess, observe, and watch drug use patterns and results. Those working for home healthcare prepare medications and infusions to use in a home setting.
Areas that pharmacists typically specialize in include nuclear pharmacy, intravenous nutrition support, psychopharmacotherapy, oncology, and geriatric pharmacy.
Pharmacy aides and technicians often help pharmacists dispense drugs. Pharmacy student interns also work under the supervision of pharmacists to get experience for a license and for graduation. Pharmacists are responsible for the accuracy of every prescription filled; therefore, they supervise the completion of tasks in the pharmacy. Pharmacists also keep a computerized, confidential record of each patient to make sure they are receiving correct drug therapy.
Pharmacists are beginning to work outside of pharmacies. They are working alongside insurance companies to create benefit packages for prescriptions. Some are conducting research and teaching in universities. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are hiring pharmacists to help with drug development and clinical research. Companies are also using pharmacists to market drugs because of their extensive knowledge of drugs and their proper uses.

Pharmacist Training and Job Qualifications

To practice pharmacy in the U.S., a license is required. This is achieved after graduating from an accredited college of pharmacy. The Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE) and the North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam (NAPLEX) must be passed in every state except California, which administers its own exam to obtain a pharmacy license. There are additional exams required for licensure in several states. Continuing education is often required to renew a license. Some states require little to obtain a license if someone is already licensed in another state. California, however, requires intense re-examination.
A graduate from pharmacy school receives a Pharm.D. degree, or becomes a Doctor of Pharmacy. Programs require a minimum of six years of university study and must be accompanied by a passing score on a State board of pharmacy licensing examination. During pharmacy school, students learn how to deliver drug information to patients and how to properly distribute prescription medications. Students are given practical experience in numerous pharmacy locations while under the direction of other pharmacists. According to the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education, there were eighty-five accredited colleges of pharmacy in 2002 authorized to award the Pharm.D. degree.
Before admittance to a pharmacy program, a minimum of two years of college must be completed. Pharm.D. programs last for four years. Prior to applying to pharmacy school, students should take classes in physics, chemistry, biology, social sciences, and humanities. The Pharmacy College Admissions Test, or PCAT, must be passed before admittance to the majority of pharmacy schools.
In 2003, forty-three pharmacy schools began using PharmCAS, the Pharmacy College Application Service started by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. By using this program, students can apply to a large number of pharmacy programs by completing an internet application and providing a single copy of their transcripts.
Pharmacy students also have the option of completing an additional Ph.D or master of science degree after earning the Pharm.D. degree. These supplementary degrees give further experience in research or laboratory training. After earning these degrees, graduates have the options of teaching at the university level or conducting research for a pharmaceutical company. One or two year fellowships and residencies are also available as further training for someone who wants to conduct laboratory research. A master’s degree in business, or MBA, is sometimes obtained by pharmacists planning to own a pharmacy. Pharmacology, pharmacy administration, and pharmaceutics are offered as graduate study.
To become a pharmacist, you need to be meticulous, have strong communication skills, enjoy helping people, and possess a good understanding of science.
If working for a drugstore chain, pharmacists can advance in their career by becoming store managers, regional managers, and eventually working for store headquarters. Pharmacists working in independent pharmacies frequently start as staff employees, but can become managers or owners. Pharmacists in a hospital setting can move up to administrator or supervisor status. Packaging, sales, production, marketing, quality control, etc. are areas where advancement is possible if working for a pharmaceutical company.

Pharmacist Job and Employment Opportunities

Through 2012, job availability will be high for those seeking work as a pharmacist. Although more people are decided to become pharmacists because of job availability and good pay, there will still be a higher number of jobs available than degrees earned. This is due to people leaving the field or retiring in addition to a growing demand for more pharmacies.
The demand for pharmacists is increasing as the elderly and middle-aged populations are growing in size and demand large quantities of prescribed drugs. The advancement of technology and science will lead the way to the creation of more drugs. Also, more prescriptions will be needed as insurance companies provide better coverage and benefits.
The hiring and training of pharmacy aides and technicians, in addition to automation, is allowing pharmacies to provide services to larger numbers of people.
Mail-order pharmacies could potentially lower job growth for pharmacists. These pharmacies allow the consumer to fill prescriptions by internet or mail. Drugs are shipped after being filled at central pharmacy. This, as well as the automated technology used, lowers the costs of prescriptions for patients.
Because hospitals are increasing the number of outpatient surgeries and lowering the length of inpatient stays, employment in hospital pharmacies is not expected to grow. The highest job growth is projected to be in places such as home care settings, nursing care, and assisted living facilities because of a growing, aging population.
Pharmacists working in managed-care facilities are being used to analyze the cost versus the benefits of certain drugs and to study various patient populations and their medication use. Biotechnological advancement will create research and sales opportunities for pharmacists working for pharmaceutical companies.
Because the cost of medication is often lower than if conditions are left untreated, insurance companies are beginning to cover more prescription expenses. As more prescriptions are being filled, more career opportunities for pharmacists will arise.

Assistant Professor, Dept of Pharm Chem, BVDU, Poona College of Pharmacy, Pune

INTRODUCTION
Pharmaceutical analysis is a branch of practical chemistry that involves a series of process for identification, determination, quantification and purification of a substance, separation of the components of a solution or mixture, or determination of structure of chemical compounds.
The substance may be a single compound or a mixture of compounds and it may be in any of the dosage form. The substance used as pharmaceuticals are animals, plants, micro organisms, minerals and various synthetic products.
The sample to be analysed is called as analyse and on the basis of size of sample, they can be classified as macro(0.1 g or more), semi micro (0.01 g to 0.1 g), micro(0.001 g to 0.01 g), sub micro (0.0001 g to 0.001 g), ultramicro (below 10-4 g), trace analysis(100 to 10000 ppm). Among all, the semi micro analysis is widely used.

TYPESThere are main two types of chemical analysis.
1. Qualitative (identification)
2. Quantitative (estimation)
1. Qualitative analysis is performed to establish composition of natural/synthetic substances. These tests are performed to indicate whether the substance or compound is present in the sample or not. Various qualitative tests are detection of evolved gas, formation of precipitates, limit tests, colour change reactions, melting point and boiling point test etc.
2. Quantitative analytical techniques are mainly used to quantify any compound or substance in the sample. These techniques are based in (a) the quantitative performance of suitable chemical reaction and either measuring the amount of reagent added to complete the reaction or measuring the amount of reaction product obtained, (b) the charatristic movement of a substance through a defined medium under controlled conditions, (c) electrical measurement, (d) measurement of some spectroscopic properties of the compound.
Various types of Qualitative analysis:1.Chemical methods
a) volumetric or titrimetric methods
b) gravimetric methods
c) gasometric analysis
2.Electrical methods
3.Instrumental methods
4.Biological and microbiological

1.Chemical methods
a)Titrimetric or volumetric method
It involves reaction of substance to be determined with an appropriate reagent as a standard solution, and volume of solution required to complete the reaction is determined. Volumetric methods require simple and less apparatus and they are susceptible of high accuracy.
Various types of titrimetric methods are:
i)Acid-base titrations (neutralization reactions)
ii)Complexometric titrations
iii)Precipitation titrations
iv)Oxidation reduction titrations
v)Non aqueous titrations

b)Gravimetric methods
In gravimetric analysis, a substance to be determined is converted into an insoluble precipitate in the purest form, which is then collected and weighed. It is the time consuming process.
In electrogravimetry, electrolysis of the sample is carried out on the electrodes is weighed after drying.
Thermogravimetry (TG) records the change in weight, differential thermal analysis (DTA) records the difference in temperature between test substance and an inert reference material, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) records the energy needed to establish a zero temperature difference between a test substance and reference material.

c)Gasometric analysisGasometry involves measurement of the volume of gas evolved or absorbed in a chemical reaction.
Some of the gases which are analysed by Gasometry are CO2 , N2O,cyclopropane, amyl nitrate, ethylene, N2, helium etc.

2.Electrical methodsElectrical methods of analysis involve the measurement of electric current, voltage or resistance in relation to the concentration of some species in the solution.
Electrical methods of analysis include:
(a)Potentiometry
(b)Conductometry
(c)Polarography
(d)Voltametry
(e)Amperometry

Potentiometry measures electrical potential of an electrode in equilibrium with an ion to be determined. Conductometry measures electrical conductivity of an electrode with a reference electrode while Polarography, Voltametry and Amperometry measures electrical current at a micro-electrode.

3.Instrumental methods of analysisInstrumental method involves measurement of some physical properties of the compound or a substance. These methods are employed for determination of minor or trace concentration of element in the sample.
Instrumental methods are preferred due to their selectivity, high speed, accuracy and simplicity of analysis. Any change in the properties of the system are detected by measurement of absorbance, specific rotation, refractive index, migration difference, charge to mass ratio etc.
Spectroscopic methods of analysis depend upon measurement of the amount of radiant energy of a particular wavelength emitted by the sample.
Methods which include absorption of radiation are ultra violet, visible, infra red, atomic absorption, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy etc.
Emission methods involve heating or electrical treatment of the sample so that the atoms are raised to the excited state to emit the energy and the intensity of this energy is measured. Emission methods include emission spectroscopy, flame photometry, flourimetry etc.
Chromatographic techniques and electrophoretic methods are separation methods for the mixure of compounds, but also applied for identification of compounds of mixures. Various chromatographic techniques are GC, HPLC, TLC, HPTLC, PC etc.
Mass spectrometry involves vaporization of material using a high vaccum and the vapour is bombarded by a high energy electron beam. Vapour molecules undergo fragmentation to produce ions of varying size. These ions are differentiated by accelerating them in electrical field and then deflecting them in a magnetic field. Each kind of ion gives a peak in the mass spectrum.

4.Biological and microbiological methodsBiological methods are used when potency of a drug or its derivative can not be properly determined by any physical or chemical methods. They are called bio-assays.

Microbiological methods are used to observe potency of antibiotic or anti- microbial agents. In antimicrobial assay, inhibition of growth of bacteria of the sample is compared with that of the standard antibiotic. These methods include cup plate method and turbidimetric analysis.

APPLICATIONS
Manufacturing industries require both qualitative and quantitative analysis to ensure that their raw materials meet certain specifications, and to check the quality of final product. Raw materials are to be checked to ensure that the essential components are present within the predetermined range of composition and there are not any unusual substances present which might upset the manufacturing process or it may appear as a harmful impurity in the final product.
In the development of new products which contains mixtures other then the pure material, it is necessary to ascertain composition of mixture which shows the optimum characteristics for which the material has been developed.
Geographical surveys require analysis to determine the composition of soil sample and numerous rock samples collected from the field.
Most of the industrial processes give rise to pollutants which may cause health related problems. So quantitative analysis of air, water and soil sample should be carried out to determine the level of pollution and to establish the safe limits for pollutants.

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