Drug Information Pharmacist - Career Profile |
Career OverviewA pharmacist that specializes in preparing written information and reports on various types of medications and drug therapies is a drug information pharmacist. The drug information pharmacist may also work in consultation with hospital and clinic medical staff to advice on the best possible drug treatment to meet the individual patients needs.
A drug information pharmacist often prepares written materials for pharmacists to distribute to patients along with the mediation. The detailed information sheets that you receive from the pharmacists are all prepared by drug information pharmacist working with pharmaceutical companies or directly with chain pharmacies.
A drug information pharmacist must have excellent research and writing skills. He or she will be able to change highly technical information on medications into easy to read and understand language that patients can understand.
A drug information pharmacist may work in an office setting with most of their time spend working on research or writing, or they may also work in regular or specialized pharmacies as well. A drug information pharmacist should be familiar with various work processing programs, desktop publishing and graphics programs as well as search engines and database programs.
Some drug information pharmacists teach at schools of pharmacy across the United States. These drug information pharmacists are also academic pharmacists and work to educated those in training in how to talk to patients and customers regarding prescription medication. Excellent communication skills are needed for those drug information pharmacists that return to teaching.
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Career RequirementsA drug information pharmacist is required to have a current license in the state that they are working in. They will also have a Doctor in Pharmacy and have completed the NAPLEX and MPJE. The Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam is not required in all states but tests the pharmacies knowledge of legal issues around medications.
A drug information pharmacist often has a background in writing or teaching, and may or may not have specific pharmaceutical research experience.
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Job OutlookAs more medications are brought onto the market and consumers become increasingly interested in understanding about medications the demand for drug information pharmacists will continue to increase. The number of drug information pharmacists required to teach at schools of pharmacy will also continue to increase.
It is estimated by the United States Department of Labor that the demand for pharmacists will exceed the number of graduates at least until the year 2014.
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Career TrackAs mentioned above a drug information pharmacist can move into several areas of pharmacy or pharmaceutical research. Returning to teaching, working for a pharmaceutical company as a drug information pharmacist or moving into management options for chain pharmacies or even privately owned pharmacies are all options for drug information pharmacists.
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CompensationThe average rate of pay for a drug information pharmacist is approximately $79,000 to $84,000 per year. Those drug information pharmacists with seniority or those in supervisory or management positions can anticipate earning over $100,000 per year.
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