Top Ten Reasons to Become a Pharmacist
Provided by the American Association of Colleges of
Pharmacy

1. I Want to Help People Get Well
Pharmacists play a key role in helping patients feel
better and get well as quickly as possible.
Pharmacists can be instrumental in improving the
health of patients by choosing the best medicines
and helping to avoid side effects. There are often
multiple medications available on the market to treat
a single disease or ailment. Pharmacists work with
prescribers to determine the best drug- and non-
drug therapy for a patient’s particular illness, age,
gender, health, etc. Pharmacists screen patients for
drug allergies and adverse drug effects.

2. I Like to Work Directly with Patients
Since pharmacies are often located within a
residential community and in common shopping
places like grocery stores, pharmacists are generally considered the most accessible member of the healthcare team. Patients can often visit their local pharmacist to seek advice about the medications they are taking without making an appointment.
Pharmacists may also provide other services such as immunizations, asthma care, blood pressure
monitoring services, cholesterol screening, diabetes
disease management, smoking cessation
consultation, bone density scans for osteoporosis
screening, anticoagulation management clinics and
more.

3. I Enjoy a Wide Variety of Career Opportunities
Pharmacists can work in a myriad of professional
settings. The majority of pharmacists (60 percent)
work in an independent or retail chain community
pharmacy and provide counseling to patients on the
use of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC)
medications. Pharmacists work in numerous other
healthcare environments as well, including hospitals,nursing homes, managed care organizations, the
pharmaceutical industry, colleges and schools and
the federal government. Pharmacists play key
leadership roles in all aspects of the healthcare
system.

4. I Can Benefit from the Increased Demand For
Pharmacists
There is an ongoing demand for pharmacy services
throughout the U.S. in most sectors of the
profession. The demand is fueled by the following
factors:
Increased demand for patient services. The transition to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree for all new pharmacy graduates has increased the type of services pharmacists are able to offer. Pharmacists are able to work in a wider array of practice settings and positions than ever before.
Increase in number of prescriptions filled each year.
According to the National Association of Chain Drug
Stores, the number of prescriptions filled increased
from 1.9 million in 1992 to more than 3.1 million in
2002 (~60 percent increase over 10 years) and in
2013, 3.9 billion prescriptions were filled (a more
than 10 fold increase!). Our society will continue to
need more pharmacists to fill the growing number of prescriptions as more medicines become available
and the population ages. Increase in the number of medicines available on the market. There is a greater selection of prescription
and OTC drugs manufactured today than in the past.
Multiple medications are often available to treat a
single disease. Pharmacists help prescribers and
patients decide which medicine will have the most
beneficial results.
Increase in the elderly population. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, 1 in 5 Americans will be
classified as elderly by 2030. Older patients generally have more chronic illness and more complicated
drug regimens than younger individuals. Pharmacists play a key role in helping the elderly patients navigate complicated medication requirements and explore ways to minimize their financial burden. The aging population has also increased the need for long-term care, geriatric and consultant pharmacists.

5. I Want to be an Important Member of the
Healthcare Team
Pharmacists work with other health care
professionals to maximize health outcomes.
Numerous studies have proven that the presence of
a pharmacist on hospital rounds as a full member of the patient care team has been shown to prevent
drug errors and reduce costs. The collaboration of
healthcare professionals, such as physicians and
pharmacists, can help to ensure that patients
properly take their medications as prescribed and
avoid any harmful drug interactions.

6. I Can Have Job Mobility, Stability, and Flexibility
Pharmacists are employed in every part of the
country. Pharmacy licensure is generally reciprocal
between U.S. states, however, additional tests or
criteria may be required to transfer licensure status.Pharmacists may be able to establish non-traditional or part-time work hours, depending on the practice
setting. With the shortage of pharmacists, student
pharmacists often receive multiple job offers prior to graduation.

7. I am Excited to be a Part of Major Innovations in
Drug Therapy One of the many exciting developments in the
pharmacy profession is the growth of a discipline,
known as pharmacogenomics. Genetic variations in
genes can affect a body’s response to a drug. In the
future, specialists in this area hope to sequence the
entire human gene in each individual. Pharmacists
and other healthcare providers will be able to use
that information to select the best medicines, treat
diseases earlier than now possible, or prevent them
entirely with individually-tailored drug therapies.

8. I Want to Work with State-of-the-Art Technology
Digital innovations in pharmacy include electronic
prescriptions, robotics for central prescription
processing and use of computers in practice as well
as pharmaceutical research. These technological
advances enhance efficiency and help to promote
patient safety. Pharmacists use these same tools to
help prioritize work, fill prescriptions with greater
accuracy and spend more time with patients. By law,pharmacists must oversee an automated dispensingprocess for quality control purposes.

9. I Can Help Defend Against Bioterrorism
Pharmacists are educated to recognize signs and
symptoms of diseases that may be used in a
biological attack. The accessibility of pharmacies
could be one of the keys to a successful mass
immunization or drug distribution program in an
emergency. In an epidemic or bioterror situation,
pharmacists are prepared to play a major role in
preventing the spread of disease and overseeing the distribution of appropriate and safe medications.

10. I Would Like to Be a Highly Respected Member of My Community.According to a November 2014 Gallup Poll,pharmacists’ honesty and ethics were rated as "high" or "very high" by 65 percent of Americans.Pharmacists are visible leaders in our community who are entrusted with the health of our families.




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