Pharmacists are responsible for the preparation of drugs specifically tablets, capsules, and injections. Without them in the world today we would not have the same medicine that we have today. They are needed in society for many different reasons. (Haverschmidt et al) Pharmacists and the work they do are beneficial to society. They create medicine, get health benefits, and have a major impact on society both positive and negative.
Pharmacists have been practicing since ancient times when the first person to take the juice from a leaf or herb to apply to a wound. During the middle ages doctors prepared and gave the medicine to their patients. The physician would get the herbs to create the medicine from the herbalist. Later in 1683 a law was passed that physicians would no longer be allowed to create medicine for their patients. This law helped the pharmaceutical industry grow because only pharmacists were allowed to create medicine for the patients who needed it. After World War II the pharmaceutical industry expanded and developed which led to the founding of new medicines and substances. This changed the role of the pharmacists for the better. (Haverschmidt et al) Pharmacists now do not have to be as skilled because of the new findings and the modern technology that we have today.
The first college for Pharmacy in the United States was established in 1821 in Philadelphia which is now known as the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. (Haverschmidt et al) Soon after colleges all around the United States were built. Pharmacy schools took a major hit during World War II when pharmacists who were mostly male, had to go fight in the war. (Fink) But today it is not an easy road to become a pharmacist in the United States. You need to graduate with a Pharm D which is a Doctor of Pharmacy. In order to graduate with this honor, you need to go through 2-3 years of study in an undergraduate program in order to qualify to enroll for a Doctor of Pharmacy. During those 2-3 years, you also need to have a Bachelor in Science, specifically chemistry. After you qualify you need to study for the Doctor of Pharmacy degree for 4 years in a Pharm D program. Once you graduate with both the Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy you can work in many places as a pharmacist some of which are pharmacies, companies that manufacture medicines and drugs, and research centers.
We need pharmacists in society in order to make the medicine for all situations especially emergency situations where people might need medicine right away. The role of pharmacists today is one of the reasons people are living longer. Without them medicine would not be able to be produced quick enough to distribute to patients. Medicine for emergency situations are very important as hospitals always need them in stock to be prepared for any situation. Emergency medicine has developed in a huge way over the years. Before the 1960s in these types of situations there was nothing more than an ambulance rushing the patient to the hospital without any medicine. (Anderson)
Medicine is the most important thing for the health of people. Most people don’t realize that pharmacists are the one who create the medicine everyone takes for their illness no matter what type of sickness it is. Without pharmacists, no one would be able to get medicine to cure themselves.
Not only are pharmacists getting a bigger role in society but they already get health benefits with their job. This and the increasing salary will drag people into wanting to become a pharmacist. In 2004 a magazine called drug topics surveyed pharmacists to see how much money the average pharmacist makes annually. The results were shocking. The average pharmacist made about 90,000 dollars yearly which is almost 7,000 dollars above the average mark in 2002. This survey projects that in 2007 when they send out their next survey the average pharmacist will make about 100,000 dollars annually. (Cardinale) If those projections are correct currently the average pharmacist will make about 130,000 dollars. Those annual salaries are hard to turn down especially if you enjoy being a pharmacist even after you work your way up to those salaries. As a pharmacist first entering the field, the numbers are still mind blowing. In 2004 as a pharmacist first entering the field salaries were as high as 84,000. Therefore, the starting hourly wage was around 40 dollars an hour. (Cardinale)
Even though the role of pharmacists and their salaries are expanding they aren’t working long hours. The average pharmacist works from 8 in the morning to 5 in the evening hence they are working about 45 hours a week, for 5 days a week. (Cardinale) To add onto their role many pharmacists are looking to become supplementary prescribers. This will allow them to produce and distribute medicine for people with chronic diseases. Beth Taylor a Specialist Principle Pharmacist with London Pharmacy Services in Southwark Primary Care Trust said, “New roles are developing and we don’t want to get hung up on what sort of pharmacist you are. It is a very flexible career, there are lots of options. It suits people with different aspirations who want to work full or part-time. There is a real mood of optimism that things are beginning to happen.” (Whyte) This proves that the role pharmacists are beginning to expand because there are so many different options and opportunities for pharmacists in the modern world.
Most pharmacists said if they had a chance to choose a different career they would choose to be a pharmacist again but some wouldn’t choose the same career again. Some don’t enjoy working as a pharmacist even with the benefits and high pay. One pharmacist who works in the west said, “Liability is high. The working conditions make anyone more prone to making errors. Short staff, high turnover rate for staff, doing so many things all at the same time, no time for breaks.” (Cardinale) Another one who works in the south said, “Poor hours, working holidays, no breaks, lack of advancement prospects, increasing hassles with insurance.” (Cardinale) This shows that not all pharmacists are happy with their job and not everything is good for all pharmacists in business. Anyone can make any small mistake which will ruin the drug making the pharmacist start from scratch or even worse, the pharmacist could distribute the bad drug to a customer or hospital for use. Pharmacists also always have to work as people always need medicine which can be a good thing because since people always need medicine the pharmacy business is rarely bad. To some pharmacists always working can be a bad thing because it can get tiring and you can seldom take days off to be with family or friends especially on holidays. But most are happy with being a pharmacist some because of the money and some because they enjoy the profession. One pharmacist who enjoys being a pharmacist said, “I love what I do. I love the satisfaction of helping people and their quality of life. I feel like I make a difference in the community.”
Pharmacists have both a positive and negative impact on society. Pharmacists help people with medicine but they also talk in meetings to help persuade people to stop smoking or drinking because it will harm their body. They are perfect people to become supporters of addicts who are trying to stop smoking or drinking because they can and have provided medicine to people who are addicts. Most addicts will purchase a nicotine patch from a pharmacy to help them stop smoking and will talk to a pharmacist while purchasing the patch. The British Medical Journal set up an experiment to test out if pharmacists can really help people quit smoking. (Sinclair et al) Pharmacists talked to smokers in a group about why they should quit. The pharmacists then followed up after one, four, and nine months. After one month, the results were that 30% of the smokers had not smoked within the month of the experiment. After nine months, most of the smokers either did not respond to the follow up or continued to be smokers but the pharmacists still got people to stop smoking after nine months of the experiment as only 12% had stopped after the full experiment. (Sinclair et al) The experiment revealed that even though most of the people continued smoking, pharmacists still have an impact on people in a group. Even pharmacists alone can impact smokers to quit smoking but if a lot of pharmacists come together in a coordinated effort to try and get many smokers to quit it will have a lasting impact on smokers around the world.
Pharmacists can also have a negative impact on society and addicts. Pharmacists can sometimes give drugs to people they know are drug addicts in order for the pharmacist to make money without worrying about the customer and even abuse the drugs themselves. It is widely known that substance abuse has been an issue among pharmacists. In 1982 the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA) finally recognized the substance abuse in the pharmacy field and until today use the following substance abuse policy (1) APhA believes that pharmacists should not practice while subject to physical and mental impairment due to the influence of drugs including alcohol – or other causes that might adversely affect their abilities to function properly in their professional capacities. (2) APhA supports the establishment of detection processes as well as treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation programs for pharmacists and pharmacy students who are subject to physical and mental impairment due to the influence of drugs-including alcohol-or other causes, when such impairment might have potential for adversely affecting their abilities to function properly in their professional capacities. (Dabney) Any pharmacist who is seen under the influence of drugs or alcohol while practicing will be taken to treatment and rehab but that does not stop pharmacists from abusing drugs and alcohol while at home and not practicing. Pharmacists are supposed to have a positive influence on society by helping people and saving lives with their medicine which they give to the people who need it, but instead they destroy lives by abusing the same drugs that they make and even giving the drugs out to drug addicts.