ALT-2 Being a Pharmacist
Contrary to what many of us perceive, a pharmacist’s job is not limited to only dispensing medicines. Pharmacists play an important role in health care and they act as an intermediary between doctors and patients. Pharmacists therefore must be very familiar with clinical terms, medicines and diseases. Being a pharmacist involves fulfilling many duties and taking responsibilities. A pharmacist must be a good communicator as he or she has to deal with customers or patients all the time.
As a pharmacist in a developing country where health services are limited, the experiences are quite different from those that may be experienced by pharmacists in other developed countries. The pharmacy where I work is a hospital pharmacy. The concept of hospital pharmacy is quite different in this environment as there are only few hospitals and health services are underdeveloped. Pharmacists here basically read prescriptions and dispense medicines or sell medicines over the counter. Patients admitted in the hospital also receive medicines from the same pharmacy. Therefore the pharmacy I work is both a hospital and retail pharmacy.
In most countries, to become a pharmacist, the minimum requirement is to complete a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy. Pharmacists must have a thorough knowledge on the origin and chemistry of drugs and prior exposure to the pharmacy environment. Pharmacists practice before they are allowed to work as a pharmacist. The training I got before becoming a pharmacist was a diploma in pharmacy which merely covered basic physiology, microbiology, pharmacology and pharmaceutics. I had very little practice and experience in the pharmacy environment before I was awarded a diploma and qualified to become a pharmacist.
With the limited knowledge and practice in the pharmacy field, I was faced with a hectic life in the country’s most well-known pharmacy. Most customers who come to buy medicines are the patients who consulted in the hospital where the pharmacy was located. My job as a pharmacist mainly involves attending to the customers who come to the pharmacy to buy drugs. For those people who come with a prescription, I interpret it and dispense the medicines prescribed. Hospital attendants receive medicines for admitted patients in the hospital, in a similar manner.
From the start of the day to the very end of it, except during the lunch break it is extremely busy as lots of customers visit the pharmacy. Most of the days, I have to sit or stand for the whole day filling in the prescriptions or labeling and dispensing medicines. Being a pharmacist also means that you not only dispense medicines but counsel patients on how to take the medicines or if they have to be prepared before administration, reconstitute them. I also have to make sure the patient or the person who comes to get the medicine understood how the medicine has to be taken. But the time spent on counseling patients and educating them was very little as I was pressured to dispense medicines fast.
Being a pharmacist is a demanding job. A pharmacists job most of the time involves doing the same thing repeatedly. It is a very fulfilling job if you’re really interested in being a pharmacist and when done right. A pharmacist must also test your knowledge about drugs and diseases often and update your knowledge on the new drugs released into the market.
