Serious question, why does a pharmacist need any degree, much less an advanced? All they do is repackage pills. They're not manufacturing lipitor behind that counter.
“Serious question, why does a pharmacist need any degree, much less an advanced? “
To protect the pharmacy from lawsuits. One doctor prescribes drug A. Another doctor prescribes drug B. A and B together are lethal. The pharmacy gets sued. (Although, I get one drug from Canada and one from Costco. They don’t talk to each other.)
Also, if you give the wrong drug to, say, a diabetic, you’ll kill them. A pharmacist is also expected to tell everybody what a drug does and how it works. So, it’s also for customer expectations.
But, mostly, it was a way for schools to suck more money out of students and states to require more paid certifications and tests.
My daddy was a pharmacist who had no degree. He took a test right after WWII to get his certification. I think it was associated with the GI Bill, but I am not sure. Anywho, he was the only person to ever pass the test or maybe there was one other person who passed. They discontinued the test because it was so difficult for someone to study all of the materials and to also have hands on learning. Daddy had worked at a pharmacy prior to the war, so he was an apprentice of sorts. Back then, pharmacists did more than count pills. Actually, daddy was still mixing drugs for doctors in the late 80s. He also took care to know what his customers were taking and what customers could not take what drugs among other things. I was at the drugstore one day when he called a physician and asked the doctor to change a customer’s prescription because the one the customer had would kill him. The doctor was grateful to say the least. I wish I knew more stories about my daddy. He was 53 when I was born and passed away when I was in college.
Because when it comes to chemistry nomenclature, the naming of chemicals, it only takes one letter change, from an ‘e’ to an ‘i’, which can be completely unnoticeable by a lay person, will have a completely different effect.
And that simple letter change can honestly mean the difference between a benign effect and death.
Serious question, why does a pharmacist need any degree
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They don’t ,, anyone with really good reading comprehension can do it , the problems come in with mis-interpreting doctors writing ... which is why there is a push for plain english RX’s in block letters ,,, another “dead” profession is optometrist ... it can be fully automated and is in many areas.