SMARTJOBS
There are lots of pills out there. The pharmacist plays a crucial role as health care advisor. (Photo:
gaylpunzalan.ca) While pharmacists can work in many
places, as Terri describes, the most common are community and hospital pharmacies. According to the Canadian Association of Pharmacists, out of 31,000 licensed pharmacists in Canada, 22,000 work in community pharmacies like Pharma Plus or Shoppers Drug Mart. Here, the patient-pharmacist relation- ship is more personal, where you might see a client repeatedly over a few years. In a hospital, pharmacists usually work on a team with nurses, doctors and other health experts like dieticians. “I’m seeing people come through with a real desire to work with patients hands-on,” says Terri. “If you have a real commitment to that then this profession will serve you well.” While salaries f luctuate immensely
depending on the type of pharmacy and the province, most pharmacists are paid hourly wages instead of a yearly salary. For a community pharmacy this usually starts at around $50 an hour. Te road to a pharmacist’s career is not
necessarily an easy one, though. Tere are around 11 pharmacy programs across Canada, where most students spend two years in other studies before completing
their four-year bachelor of science in pharmacy. Getting into the program can be difficult. Only one in five students who apply to the University of Alberta pro- gram make the cut. Troughout the pro- gram Terri says students get a taste of the wider pharmacy community, completing a practicum in hospitals and the com- munity to better understand the health care world. Aſter graduating, aspiring pharmacists must submit to an intensive two-part exam before being licensed by their respective provinces. “It’s quite an ordeal,” says Terri. “Te point is that it’s not easy to pass.” However, with a shiſt in the profes-
sion’s focus, education is about to change gears as well, says Ruth Ackerman at the pharmacy association. Universities across Canada are on the brink of changing the educational requirements, adding a two- year doctorate of pharmacy aſter the BSc. Tis is aimed at better preparing students for the hands-on patient care happening in the field. “Just filling a prescription and being paid to fill a prescription was too much time on the product and not enough on the patient,” says Ruth. “Who cares about the paper? It’s about you and your
medicine and how it makes you feel better.” Because of these changes, the type of
person who makes a good pharmacist is changing, as well. “When the patient comes into the equation, it’s about really strong communication skills because the patient has to understand you. You have to have sensitivity to the different beliefs patients have,” says Ruth. Terri agrees, saying although qualities like attention to detail were important in past, now it’s about how you interact with people and their values. Having responsibility for patients is
what drew Terri to the profession in the first place. She graduated from the University of Saskatchewan licensed and went on to work in hospital pharmacies across Canada. “I knew some pharmacists growing up and I really admired them as role models. I found that they had a pretty important role in the community as health care providers. A lot of people relied on them for advice,” she says. Providing this advice is what makes
pharmacy so crucial. “Tere are a lot of medications out there,” Terri says. “Tere’s risk in everything with medication and that’s why our role is so important.”
SMART careers | Early Spring 21 S
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