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Pharmacy
PharmacistsMortar.svg
Occupation
Names Pharmacist, Chemist, Doctor of Pharmacy, Druggist, Apothecary or simply Doctor
Occupation type
 Professional
Activity sectors
 Health care, health sciences, chemical sciences
Description
Education required
 Doctor of Pharmacy, Master of Pharmacy, Bachelor of Pharmacy, Diploma in Pharmacy
Related jobs
 Doctor, pharmacy technician, toxicologist, chemist, pharmacy assistant, other medical specialists

Pharmacy is the health science that links medical science with chemistry and it is charged with the discovery, production, control, disposal, safe and effective use of drugs. The practice of pharmacy requires excellent knowledge of drugs, their mechanism of action, side effects, interactions, mobility and toxicity. At the same time, it requires knowledge of treatment and understanding of the pathological process. Some specialties of pharmacists, such as that of clinical pharmacists, require other skills, e.g. knowledge about the acquisition and evaluation of physical and laboratory data.

The scope of pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing of 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 the 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 medicines, as well as miscellaneous items such as confectionery, cosmetics, office supplies, toys, hair care products and magazines and occasionally refreshments and groceries.

In its investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients, the work of the pharma may be regarded as a precursor of the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology, prior to the formulation of the scientific method.


Books