Pharmacologist & Toxicologist College and Career Awareness

What is a Pharmacologist?  Develop new drugs to cure, treat, and prevent disease.  Test substances to find if they are harmful.  Study effects of drugs.

What is a Toxicologist?  Find new and better ways to determine harmful effects of poisons.  Design and carry out studies of chemicals to find ways they can be used safely.  Study chemicals to prevent risk to human health and/or the environment.

Where does a Pharmacologist work?  Research laboratory of:  Hospitals  Businesses  Universities  Pharmaceutical companies  Other health-related organizations

What does a Pharmacologist do?  Give drugs to lab animals to study their responses to the drugs.  Check if drugs help health conditions.  Revise medications as needed.  Get approval from U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

Where does a Toxicologist work?  9,000 Toxicologists employed in North America in:  Education  Government  Consulting  Research foundations  Industries

What does a Toxicologist do?  Work with industries to make sure products and workplaces are safe.  Evaluate research data.  Work for government to enforce laws that make sure chemicals are produced, used and disposed of safely.  Teach others about safe use of chemicals.

How do I become a Pharmacologist?  Must have a Bachelor’s degree (4 year degree) with courses in Science and Mathematics.  Must complete Doctorate degree (4 additional years) to conduct testing on humans.

How do I become a Toxicologist?  Bachelor’s degree (4 years of college)  Most have Doctorate degrees (4 additional years)

How much does a Pharmacologist make?  The average yearly salary for a Pharmacologist is $91,407 to $118,828 per year.

How much does a Toxicologist make?  The average yearly salary for a Toxicologist is $35,000 to $100,000.

Are jobs available?  There will definitely be jobs in both Toxicology and Pharmacology in the future based on scientific advances.  More products will be available and will require more testing.

Congratulations! You have just opened your own clinic!  Fill in your doctor’s notepad.  What is your clinic’s name? Address? Phone number?  Make up your DEA number- this is your authorization number to write prescriptions.

Acronyms you may use on prescriptions Rx- takep-after ASA- aspirinpt- patient bid- every 2 hourstid- three times a day PO- by mouthw/a- while awake pm- afternoon q- everysig-directions a.m. – in the morningPRN- as needed a-beforetab-tablet c- withs- without pc- after mealsac- before meals Get your doctor’s notepad and practice writing a prescription using the words above.

Practice:  You must make sure you are prescribing the correct dose to each patient!  If you over prescribe you may have to call a toxicologist!  Do the math questions on your worksheet to practice with dosage.

Create a prescription label  Fill the prescription that you have written by counting out the proper amounts of pills.  Zoloft- blue M&Ms  Ibuprofen- Red M&Ms  Ambien- Yellow M&Ms  Penicillin- Orange M&Ms  Zantac- Brown M&Ms  Lipitor- Green M&Ms Make sure that the label matches what you have prescribed and the dosage is correct for your patient.