1. Field of Pharmacy Essential Question:
How do the roles/responsibilities of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy aides compare/contrast?
Written by Beverly Tippens

2. Pharmacists Roles and Responsibilities
In community pharmacies, dispense prescription drugs to individuals.
Advise patients and physicians etc. on selection, dosages, interactions, and side effects of medications.
Monitor health and progress of patients to ensure safe and effective use of medication.
Compound or mix ingredients to form medications.
Counsel patients on use of prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Advise patients on general health topics.

3. Pharmacists Roles and Responsibilities
Provide information on products such as durable medical equipment or home health care supplies.
Complete third-party insurance forms and other paperwork.
Hire and supervise other personnel.
Oversee general operation of the pharmacy.
Provide specialized services to help patients with diabetes, asthma, smoking cessation, or high blood pressure. May be trained to administer vaccinations.

4. Pharmacists Roles and Responsibilities
In health care facilities, dispense medications and advise the medical staff on selection and effects of drugs.
Prepare sterile solutions to be administered intravenously.
Plan, monitor and evaluate drug programs or regiments.
Counsel hospitalized patients on use of drugs before discharge.

5. Pharmacists Salary Ranges
Median annual of wage-and-salary pharmacists in May 2006 were $94,520.
The middle 50% earned between $83,180 and $108,140 a year.
The lowest 10% earned less than $67,860 a year.
The highest 10% earned more than $119,480 a year.

6. Pharmacist Education/Training
Pharmacists must earn a Pharm.D. degree from an accredited college or school of pharmacy.
A license to practice pharmacy is required in all States, the District of Columbia and all U.S. territories.
To obtain a license, a prospective pharmacist must graduate from a college of pharmacy that is accredited by the ACPE and pass a series of examinations.

7. Pharmacist Job Outlook
Employment is expected to increase much faster than the average through 2016.
As a result of rapid growth and the need to replace workers who leave the occupation, job prospects should be excellent.

8. Pharmacist Work Facilities
Community pharmacies.
Hospitals.
A small proportion worked in mail-order and Internet pharmacies, pharmaceutical wholesalers, offices of physicians, and the Federal Government.

9. Pharmacy Technician Roles/Responsibilities
Help licensed pharmacists provide medication and other health care products to patients.
Perform routine tasks to help prepare prescribed medication, such as counting tablets and labeling bottles.
Answer phones, stock shelves operate cash registers.
Technicians refer any questions regarding prescriptions, drug information, or health matters to a pharmacist.

10. Pharmacy Technician Roles/Responsibilities
In retail or mail-order pharmacies, technicians receive written or electronic prescriptions from doctor’s offices. They must retrieve, count, pour, weigh, measure and sometimes mix the medication.
The technician prepares the prescription labels, select the type of prescription container, and affix the prescription and auxiliary labels to the container.
Once the prescription is filled, the technicians prices and files the prescription, which must be checked by a pharmacist before it is given to the patient.
Technicians may establish and maintain patient profiles, prepare insurance claim forms and stock and take inventory of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

11. Pharmacy Technician Education/Training
Most pharmacy technicians receive informal on-the-job training.
Employers favor applicants who have formal training, certification, or previous experience.
Strong customer service skills also are important.
There are currently few State and no Federal requirements for formal training or certification of pharmacy technicians.

12. Pharmacy Technician Job Outlook
Employment is expected to increase much faster than the average through 2016, and job opportunities are expected to be good.
The increased number of middle-aged and elderly people-who use more prescription drugs than younger people-will spur demand for technicians throughout

13. Pharmacy Technician Salary Range
Median hourly earnings of wage-and-salary pharmacy technicians in May 2006 were $12.32.
The middle 50% earned between $10.10 and $14.93.
The lowest 10% earned less than $8.56, and the highest 10% earned more than $17.65.

14. Pharmacy Technicians Work Facilities
Hospitals
Retail Pharmacies

15. Pharmacy Aides Roles/Responsibilities
Perform administrative duties in pharmacies.
Aides often are clerks or cashiers who primarily answer telephones, handle money, stock shelves, and perform other clerical duties.
Work closely with pharmacy technicians.
Pharmacy technicians usually perform more complex tasks than do aides, although in some States the duties and titles of jobs overlap.
Aides refer any questions regarding prescriptions, drug information, or health matters to a pharmacist.
Pharmacy aides may establish and maintain patient profiles, prepare insurance claim forms, and stock and take inventory of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

16. Pharmacy Aide Education/Training
Most pharmacy aides receive informal on-the-job training, but employers favor those with at least a high school diploma.
Pharmacy aides begin their training by observing a more experienced worker.
After they become experienced, aides begin to work on their own.

17. Pharmacy Aide Job Outlook
Employment of pharmacy aides is expected to decline rapidly from 2006 to Job prospects, however, should be good.
Demand for pharmacy aides will fall as pharmacy technicians become increasingly responsible for answering phones, stocking shelves, operating cash registers, and performing other administrative tasks.
In addition, with increased training, many pharmacy aides will become pharmacy technicians, which will result in further declines in pharmacy aide jobs.

18. Pharmacy Aide Salary Range
Median hourly earnings of wage-and-salary pharmacy aides were $9.35 in May 2006.
The middle 50% earned between $7.89 and $11.58.
The lowest 10% earned less that $6.92 and the highest 10% earned more than $14.64.

19. Pharmacy Aide Work Facilities
General medical and surgical hospitals.
Grocery stores.
Pharmacies and drug stores.

20. Citation: Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Outlook Handbook, Edition
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