Pharmacy

Pharmacist

Work Activities

• Verifying the validity of a prescription
• Determining the identity, purity, and strength of medications
• Weighing, measuring, and mixing drugs and other medicinal compounds
• Ensuring that patients understand prescribed instructions
• Providing information to prescribers, institutional clients, and others
• Taking responsibility for the pharmaceutical care of patients
• Providing consultation to patients
• Keeping comprehensive records of all medications dispensed in order to satisfy the provisions of the law
• Storing and preserving biologicals, vaccines, serums, and other drugs that may lose their potency
• Ordering and maintaining a supply of drugs, chemicals, and other pharmaceutical stock
• Advising civic groups and other health professionals about rational drug use and precautions, and about the availability of medications
• Teaching in a college of pharmacy

Career Specialties
Pharmacists may perform other duties depending on their place of employment.

Community Pharmacists, or Retail Pharmacists, perform a combination of professional, managerial, and administrative functions. In addition to dispensing medications and medical supplies and consulting with consumers and other health professionals, these pharmacists hire and supervise employees, keep business records, and oversee the general operation of the pharmacy.

Consultant Pharmacists review the drug therapy programs of nursing home patients on a regular basis.

Hospital Pharmacists working in hospitals, clinics, or nursing homes may advise the medical staff on the selection and effects of drugs, perform administrative duties, teach in schools of allied health, and work in patient care areas as members of a medical team. They may be engaged in the therapeutic monitoring of drug levels and in the filling and compounding of orders for medications. They also may gather information for use in hospital research projects.

Those with special training in working with radiopharmaceuticals (drugs that contain radioactive materials) are called Radiopharmacists.

Pharmacists employed in industrial settings may find positions in the research and development of new drugs or in the supervision of personnel, quality control, packaging, or medical sales.

Work Settings
Depending on their place of employment, a Pharmacist may work alone, with other Pharmacists, or as a member of a team of health care professionals. Pharmacists may supervise pharmacy assistants, pharmacy technicians, and other employees and/or be supervised by a pharmacy owner, project director, or by a more experienced Pharmacist.

Hazards may include skin disorders from contact with chemicals and burns from acids. The work does not require much physical effort; however, in many jobs Pharmacists are required to stand most of the day.

Special Requirements
To become licensed as a Pharmacist in New Mexico, an applicant must have a professional degree from an approved school of pharmacy and must pass a written examination. To qualify for the examination, the applicant must have at least 1,500 hours of practical experience in a pharmacy.

Educational Institutions
University of New Mexico(A/B/M/D/Pr)

Pharmacy Technician

• Mixing pharmaceutical preparations under the direction and supervision of the pharmacist
• Preparing inventory; ordering and stocking supplies
• Packaging and labeling drugs, chemicals, and other pharmaceutical preparations
• Filling prescriptions with prepared drugs and compounding sterile intravenous solutions under the supervision of a pharmacist
• Cleaning equipment and work areas in the pharmacy
• Sterilizing bottles, beakers, and other glassware according to prescribed methods
• Computing charges for drugs
• Delivering prepared medications and running errands

Work Settings
Pharmacy Technicians work under the direction and close supervision of a pharmacist. They may work with other Technicians in large hospitals or in retail settings where they also may greet and assist customers.

Special Requirements
Nearly all employers require applicants to have a physical exam. Because Pharmacy Technicians deal with controlled substances, they must undergo a background check. Applicants without prior experience or training may be required to pass a test to determine if they have the necessary aptitude to learn the job. Some typing may be required for this job.

Educational Institutions
Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute(P)
Fort Bayard Medical Center(O)
Gila Regional Medical Center(O)
Holy Cross Hospital(O)
Lovelace Health Systems(P)
Memorial Medical Center(O)
Mesa Technical College(P)
Nor-Lea General Hospital(O)
Plains Regional Medical Center(O)
Presbyterian Healthcare Services(O)
Presbyterian Medical Services - Cuba Health Center(O)
Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital(O)