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Career Details
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Career Details
29-1051.00 - Pharmacists
29-1051.00 - Pharmacists
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.
Key Facts

Bright Outlook
Career Details
Green Job
Career Details
Current Employment
297,100
Estimate
Forecasted Employment
306,200
Estimate
Change in Employment
+9,100
Estimate
Change in Employment %
+3.1%
Estimate
Tasks

Tasks
The tasks listed below can be performed to prepare you for a career in this field.
Core
- Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability.
- Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage.
- Analyze prescribing trends to monitor patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions.
- Order and purchase pharmaceutical supplies, medical supplies, or drugs, maintaining stock and storing and handling it properly.
- Maintain records, such as pharmacy files, patient profiles, charge system files, inventories, control records for radioactive nuclei, or registries of poisons, narcotics, or controlled drugs.
- Provide specialized services to help patients manage conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, smoking cessation, or high blood pressure.
- Advise customers on the selection of medication brands, medical equipment, or healthcare supplies.
- 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.
- Compound and dispense medications as prescribed by doctors and dentists, by calculating, weighing, measuring, and mixing ingredients, or oversee these activities.
- Refer patients to other health professionals or agencies when appropriate.
- Plan, implement, or maintain procedures for mixing, packaging, or labeling pharmaceuticals, according to policy and legal requirements, to ensure quality, security, and proper disposal.
- Manage pharmacy operations, hiring or supervising staff, performing administrative duties, or buying or selling non-pharmaceutical merchandise.
- Assess the identity, strength, or purity of medications.
- Teach pharmacy students serving as interns in preparation for their graduation or licensure.
- Offer health promotion or prevention activities, such as training people to use blood pressure devices or diabetes monitors.
- Contact insurance companies to resolve billing issues.
Supplemental
- Prepare sterile solutions or infusions for use in surgical procedures, emergency rooms, or patients' homes.
- 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.
- Publish educational information for other pharmacists, doctors, or patients.
- Update or troubleshoot pharmacy information databases.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Knowledge

Knowledge
The items listed below are organized into sections that contain knowledge useful for pursuing a career in this field. Each section also contains a "Percentage of Importance" statistic that shows how relevant an item is to the occupation.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Tools

Tools
The tools listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Technology

Technology
The technologies listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Certifications

Licensing

Licensing
The licensing information below is organized into sections and is useful for pursuing if you are interested in a career in this field.
No specific licensing information is listed for this occupation in the area you have selected.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Related Programs

Online Programs related to this career, offered by participating institution(s), are listed below.
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