Beyond the Retail Pharmacy Career

n 2009, U.S. News & World Report revealed that the occupation of pharmacist was one of the best careers. Although filling prescriptions is considered the primary role of retail pharmacists, they are spending more time teaching patients how to manage their conditions or take their medications.

For instance, pharmacists are teaching diabetics how to properly inject insulin or teaching patients with hypertension how to take and monitor their blood pressure. They are also tasked with the important watchdog action of making sure a patient isn't being subject to a drug interaction when his doctor (or multiple doctors) has prescribed multiple medications.

And pharmacists don't just work in the pharmacies at Target, Walmart, and Walgreens either. Approximately one fourth of all pharmacists spend their workday working in hospitals. Clinical pharmacists that work in hospitals work in conjunction with physicians to help with determining the best medications and dosage that will be most effective for a given patient and given medical condition.

Closed door pharmacists don't interact with patients directly, but can work in long-term care facilities to provide pharmaceutical care of incapacitated or elderly patients who are not able to take care of themselves. Home infusion and chemotherapy pharmacists are involved in accurately mixing chemotherapy medications for cancer patients.

Some pharmacists work more on the research end of things -- working in the development of new pharmaceuticals, while nuclear pharmacist are accountable for measuring the radioactive agents used in digital imaging procedures, such as MRIs and CT scans.

While retail pharmacy is a common career choice for those interested in the pharmaceutical industry, there are plenty of other options.