Pharmacist
Pharmacists are licensed health professionals who specialize in the practice of preparing and dispensing both prescription and nonprescription medications. They are knowledgeable about medication action, use, dosage, side effects, and interaction with other substances.
Pharmacists work with people of all ages and may be employed by a hospital, community organization, or retail outlet. To promote public health, pharmacists may provide education and information about medications to individuals and develop and manage systems to control and distribute medications.
A pharmacist may hold a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree in pharmacy. All pharmacists must graduate from an accredited program and successfully pass a board-certified licensing examination. A pharmacist must hold a current license in the state or province in which he or she practices. Licensing requirements are managed by individual state or provincial boards of pharmacy.
| Author | Jeannette Curtis |
| Author | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Last Updated | May 25, 2007 |
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise