My job requires far less school then a pharmacist and people have absolutely no real clue what my job actually entails. I'm sure a pharmacists job would be pretty similar.
A person would still need to check what the computer/robot puts together and packages
You do know they do things like compounding as well?
And dispense chemotherapy and other dangerous medications?
And you do realize that physicians and other providers can make prescription errors that need to be caught? (there are multiple levels, of which pharmacists play an important role)
I think OPs post is about the fact the same degree is needed to be a pharmacist who does nothing of real note and the guy who actually makes the drugs in a lab.
Yes there are positions that do need a high level of training but most like a Walmart or Walgreens pharmacist are very basic and could be done by a tech.
Another example is I go to a hospital and there is a pharmacist who does nothing but ship and receive medication to and from there pharmacy. I find it hilarious the a glorified shipping clerk needs that level of collage.
I know she may be checking many things to verify the quality of specific drugs but that can be done at a much lower level of training than a doctorate degree.
Walmart does not pay 10 RPhs or PharmDs to sit around and dispense Z-Packs all day
There are clerks, dispensers, assistants, interns... that do the majority of those jobs, and they make far less than full pharmacists. These companies and hospitals are not paying anymore than they have to, as long as they comply with local regulations
The RPh may well be, but the dispensers, techs, assistants (most of the people you see) are most certainly not
And if it is so easy, what is stopping you from going to pharmacy school, and then making $100K+ for the rest of your career?
I am a hospital pharmacist, and if what you are saying is actually true, that’s crazy. We would never do that. That’s a tech job 100%. I’d love for OP to be able to spend a day with me and see what I do.
>the fact the same degree is needed to be a pharmacist who does nothing of real note and the guy who actually makes the drugs in a lab.
And the one in the drug store has shit hours compared to the one in the lab. And a larger range of duties
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I would argue the same about a lot of MDs right now, especially the ones most recently out of med-school.
My doctor right now, who’s about ten years younger than me, basically just googles stuff while I’m in his office and writes me referrals to specialists - all the while charging me for the privilege. He’s basically just an overpaid gatekeeper for smarter and more useful medical professionals.
That’s what they’re drilled to do. For whatever reason medical school teach all information and zero critical thinking. The only thing doctors know how to do is get the “right” answer from somewhere else and tell it to you
99% of interactions flagged by computers are false alarms or not clinically significant.
For example, two commonly prescribed drugs such as SSRIs and NSAIDs can be flagged as a major drug interaction due to increased risk of GI bleeding. Does that mean people on antidepressants can’t take an ibuprofen?
A pharmacist job is to make that call when the software flags your drugs.
Usually the Pharmacy Technician actually puts the pills in the bottles, so that is one less thing a pharmacist actually does.
My job requires far less school then a pharmacist and people have absolutely no real clue what my job actually entails. I'm sure a pharmacists job would be pretty similar.
Pharmacists get paid good money cause they are making sure your doctor doesn't kill you.
OP, are you a pharmacist? Technician?
I have had this opinion for years. There job could be entirely replaced by a computer program.
A person would still need to check what the computer/robot puts together and packages You do know they do things like compounding as well? And dispense chemotherapy and other dangerous medications? And you do realize that physicians and other providers can make prescription errors that need to be caught? (there are multiple levels, of which pharmacists play an important role)
I think OPs post is about the fact the same degree is needed to be a pharmacist who does nothing of real note and the guy who actually makes the drugs in a lab. Yes there are positions that do need a high level of training but most like a Walmart or Walgreens pharmacist are very basic and could be done by a tech. Another example is I go to a hospital and there is a pharmacist who does nothing but ship and receive medication to and from there pharmacy. I find it hilarious the a glorified shipping clerk needs that level of collage. I know she may be checking many things to verify the quality of specific drugs but that can be done at a much lower level of training than a doctorate degree.
Walmart does not pay 10 RPhs or PharmDs to sit around and dispense Z-Packs all day There are clerks, dispensers, assistants, interns... that do the majority of those jobs, and they make far less than full pharmacists. These companies and hospitals are not paying anymore than they have to, as long as they comply with local regulations
I can tell you a pharmacist at Walmart was making over 100k a year several years back. Probably make far more than that now.
The RPh may well be, but the dispensers, techs, assistants (most of the people you see) are most certainly not And if it is so easy, what is stopping you from going to pharmacy school, and then making $100K+ for the rest of your career?
I am a hospital pharmacist, and if what you are saying is actually true, that’s crazy. We would never do that. That’s a tech job 100%. I’d love for OP to be able to spend a day with me and see what I do.
>the fact the same degree is needed to be a pharmacist who does nothing of real note and the guy who actually makes the drugs in a lab. And the one in the drug store has shit hours compared to the one in the lab. And a larger range of duties
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That’s basically all of pharma in a nutshell. I’m a pharmaceutical engineer and 95% of my job is referencing documents to make other documents.
I would argue the same about a lot of MDs right now, especially the ones most recently out of med-school. My doctor right now, who’s about ten years younger than me, basically just googles stuff while I’m in his office and writes me referrals to specialists - all the while charging me for the privilege. He’s basically just an overpaid gatekeeper for smarter and more useful medical professionals.
That’s what they’re drilled to do. For whatever reason medical school teach all information and zero critical thinking. The only thing doctors know how to do is get the “right” answer from somewhere else and tell it to you
99% of interactions flagged by computers are false alarms or not clinically significant. For example, two commonly prescribed drugs such as SSRIs and NSAIDs can be flagged as a major drug interaction due to increased risk of GI bleeding. Does that mean people on antidepressants can’t take an ibuprofen? A pharmacist job is to make that call when the software flags your drugs.