Pharmacists Are the Last Line of Defense • PBI Education (2024)

FAQs

Are pharmacists the last line of defense? ›

You, a pharmacist, are the last line of defense in preventing controlled substances from getting into the wrong hands.

A 2022 National Community Pharmacists Association survey showed that nearly 75% of respondents felt they did not have enough time to safely perform clinical duties and patient care. Stores often operate with just one pharmacist behind the counter for a 12 hour shift.

It usually takes approximately eight years to become a pharmacist in California. A candidate can expect to spend three to four years completing an undergraduate program and then four more years in their pharmacy program.

People usually see their pharmacists more often than their family doctor. These professionals understand medications, dosages and drug interactions. If a physician writes a patient an incorrect prescription, a pharmacist is the last line of defense to ensure that the patient stays safe.

It is far from dead. If you look around carefully you'll see many pharmacies are making changes to their business model and doing quite well.

As technology and robotics become more advanced, a common question that many individuals working in pharmacy environments have is “will automation replace pharmacists?” To answer that question simply: no.

Prescription reimbursem*nt has been driven down so low there's not enough margin to pay pharmacists better or afford more help. As the retail pharmacy industry has suffered at the hands of payors, the rest of the pharmacy industry has too. This has caused wage stagnation across the pharmacy profession.

Fortunately, an increasing demand for physicians,¹¹ combined with projections about people living longer, should create opportunities for pharmacists to evolve and expand their role—perhaps even to become the next generation of primary care providers (PCPs) who treat patients with acute illnesses and manage chronic ...

But the fact of the matter is over 50% of pharmacists have demonstrated burnout and that is being evidenced in those walkouts and clinical unrest in the world of pharmacy.

2. Do You Need Medical School to Become a Pharmacist? No, you do not need to attend medical school in your pursuit of pharmacy. To qualify for a career as a pharmacist, you need to have either a bachelor's degree or a pre-pharmacy diploma, as well as a degree from an accredited pharmacy school.

Do you need a PhD to be a pharmacist? ›

You'll need advanced education and licensure in order to work as a pharmacist. Pharmacists are required to have a doctoral degree and pass multiple exams before becoming licensed. However, you don't need to be a pharmacist to work with patients and medications.

How hard is pharmacy school? On various online forums, the most common answer to this question is that pharmacy school is rigorous and demanding—but not impossible if you're thoroughly committed to earning your PharmD. After the first year of study, approximately 15 percent of Doctor of Pharmacy students drop out.

For example, the California State Board of Pharmacy has published the following list of red flags (other states use the same criteria): Irregularities on the face of the prescription itself. Nervous patient demeanor. Age or presentation of patient (e.g., youthful patients seeking chronic pain medications)

(c) Any dishonest or unprofessional conduct, or gross or repeated negligent conduct in the practice of pharmacy or in performing activities ancillary to the practice of pharmacy or any particular aspect or specialty thereof; (d) Behavior which demonstrates a clear conflict with the basic knowledge and competence ...

As the final step in the administration process and the last line of defense against medication errors, nurses must follow the rights of medication administration to minimize the risk of medication errors: Right patient. Right medication.

A red flag could be indicative of abuse or misuse, over or under compliance, drug-drug interactions, or a “forged or altered prescription.” Such issues would be reviewed and resolved by a pharmacist “before filling any prescription” as part of the “prospective drug use review,” the testimony states.

Pharmacists Ranked Third Most Trusted Medical Professionals in 2023 Gallup Survey. Pharmacists are ranked as the third most trusted medical professionals among various occupations in Gallup's 2023 Annual Rating of Honesty and Ethics survey.