How did you become a pharmacist? What degree did you earn? What interests you about the profession?

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In the United States, a potential pharmacist must go to college and get a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD) to be eligible to sit for a licensing test. Until a few years ago, an applicant could sit for the test with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (BSPharm). While a person with the BSPharm can take the test, pharmacy schools no longer offer this degree.

It took five years to get a BSPharm, while a PharmD is a six-year program. Two years are spent in pre-pharmacy and four years are spent in pharmacy school. A large part of the last year is spent in practice sites gaining practical experience.

I became interested in pharmacy when I was in high school. I wanted to be in a health care profession. However, I was somewhat reluctant to "get my hands dirty." While the profession is changing to include a lot of physical assessment, as a general rule, there is not as much, nor it is as invasive as that done by physicians and nurses.

To be a pharmacist, one must be proficient in math and science. To understand pharmacology (how drugs work) and physiology (how the body works) is extremely important if one wants to know what the medications do in the body. The math comes in when calculating doses and dosage forms.

What makes pharmacy interesting is the chance to learn concepts like pharmacology and physiology, then combine them to help a person get well or stay healthy.

A couple of weeks ago, I answered a question about what a pharmacist does at a large hospital. That answer, which is also on this Web site, might give you more information.

Good luck.

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