Pharmaknows

PHARMACY
Pharmacy is the science and technique of preparing and dispensing drugs. It is a health profession that links health sciences with chemical sciences and aims to ensure the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs.

The scope of pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing medications, and it also includes more modern services related to health care, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing drug information. Pharmacists, therefore, are the experts on drug therapy and are the primary health professionals who optimize use of medication for the benefit of the patients.

An establishment in which pharmacy (in the first sense) is practiced is called a pharmacy (this term is more common in the United States) or a chemist's (which is more common in Great Britain). In the United States and Canada, drugstores commonly sell drugs, as well as miscellaneous items such as confectionery, cosmetics, office supplies, and magazines and occasionally refreshments and groceries.

The word pharmacy is derived from its root word pharma, which had first been used sometime in the 15th–17th centuries. However, the original Greek roots from pharmakos imply sorcery or even poison. In addition to pharma responsibilities, the pharma offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now performed solely by other specialist practitioners, such as surgery and midwifery. The pharma often operated through a retail shop which, in addition to ingredients for medicines, sold tobacco and patent medicines.


Education and registration

The Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy is a four-year college degree intended for people who wants to have a career in the various fields of the pharmaceutical industry. The study of pharmacy focuses on the identification, discovery, isolation, synthesis, and formulation of biologically active compounds for clinical use.

The BS Pharmacy curriculum comprises of 72-units of CHED-mandated general education courses, 30-units essential core subjects, and 90-units professional pharmacy courses presented thru lectures and laboratory classes. The program requires Thesis and Research Project in addition to the Practicum in the three major pharmaceutical areas of internship, namely the community, hospital and manufacturing.

Graduates of BS in Pharmacy are provided with a broad spectrum of training that may lead to employment in a wide range of scientific fields, principally in higher education institutions, community drug stores, hospitals, government agencies, research establishments, public health and in the pharmaceutical industry. They may also choose to continue with Medical education.

• Clinical Research Associate – employed by pharmaceutical companies to run clinical trials to test new or existing drugs for their effectiveness, risks, benefits, and to ensure they are safe to allowed on to the market.
• Medical Research Scientist – work to develop new, or improve existing drugs, treatments or other medically related products to increase scientific knowledge on topics related to medicine through the use of experiments.
• Pharmacologist – investigates how drugs and chemicals interact with biological systems; aims to understand how drugs work so they can be used effectively and safely; carries out research to aid drug discovery and development.

Advanced Positions 
Require years of extensive experience and practice:

• Chief Pharmacist – manages and supervise the overall operations of a pharmaceutical company, be it in retail, hospital or in manufacture
• Higher Education Professors – facilitate learning and carry out research activities in universities and some colleges of further education. They teach academic subjects to undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
• Environmental Health Practitioners – act as advisers, educators, consultants, managers and enforcement officers, ensuring people are able to live, work and play in safe, healthy environments.

Jobs for Non Board Passers:

• Pharmacy Assistant – helps the Pharmacist in dispensing medicines in community, hospital or in industrial setting
• Pharmacy Technician – help licensed Pharmacists in performing routine tasks such as counting tablets and labeling bottles to help prepare prescribed medication.

Jobs not related to Pharmacy that graduates can apply to

• Call center agent – answers phone calls and inquiries of clients and provides customer support, usually to people from other countries
• Administrative Staff – personnel responsible for the organization and management of office duties and tasks; positions that include office secretary, personal assistant and office clerk
• Freelancer working online – doing online jobs for clients abroad, such as data entry, article writing, SEO, customer support, administrative support etc., which mainly depends on your skills

Career Opportunities Abroad
There is limited demand abroad for Filipinos in Pharmacy-related jobs. Only a handful of job vacancies are available for Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Assistants in Gulf countries such as Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
According to the 2010 "Pharmacy Compensation Survey":

Directors of Pharmacy $125,200
Retail Staff Pharmacists $113,600
Hospital Staff Pharmacists $111,700
Mail Order Staff Pharmacists $109,300
Clinical Pharmacists $113,400

Salary Levels
In the Philippines, Pharmacists in private and government sector shall receive a starting salary equivalent to Salary Grade Level 15which amounts to about php24,000 to php26,000 a month . However, fresh graduates of BS Pharmacy at the entry level actually earn about php8,000 to php13,000 a month, while those who have more experience and work in supervisory positions have a salary range of php15,000 to php20,000 per month .


Related Courses
BS in Medical Technology
BS in Pharmacy major in Industrial Pharmacy