Foreign Graduate Problem?
This was emailed too me and seemed quite compelling. I don't have much to add to it except my curiosity. I was hoping to present this to the community and see what your thoughts were. Please share them with me (and the author).
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From: leon <leonce1234@gmail.com>
Subject: too many incompetent foreign graduates
Title: Pharmacist
Message Body:
I am sorry to switch gears on you, but I felt the need to address another issue in the field of pharmacy. As most pharmacists already know, it is very tight job market out there. When I graduated, it was completely the opposite. Sign-on bonuses were common and hourly rates were very negotiable. Most employers were willing to train old and new pharmacists from the very beginning. Fast forward a few years later and all those jobs have practically vanished. Without networking, it is nearly impossible to get your foot into the door.
While I have been fortunate enough to find another job in pharmacy, I noticed a disturbing trend. Generally speaking, I will say most of my classmates were competent pharmacists. They were hardworking and eager to learn and keep up with the latest drug therapies. As I worked in the real world, I noticed some really ignorant and incompetent pharmacists. These pharmacists would not know the difference between Keppra and Keflex (no, I am not kidding). These pharmacists could not tell you the names of other drugs in the same family (ACE inhibitors, ARBs, Cephalosporins, Fluoroquinolones, etc). They could not even tell you the generic name of a drug, much less if there was even a generic on the market. Worse, I started catching their prescription errors on a regular basis and had to explain to customers why our pharmacy was making mistakes. My technicians would tell me, “That floater we had yesterday was dumb as hell. He was asking me questions about drugs.” My other regular pharmacists would shake their heads in disgust after seeing the kinds of mistakes that were being made.
Who are these pharmacists? Foreign graduates. I spent 6 years getting my Doctorate of Pharmacy degree. By contrast, most of these foreign graduates spend only 4 years in school. Unlike most medical schools in foreign countries, pharmacy schools outside the United States are basically looked down upon in their respective countries. Part of the reason is because the education is lacking and does not challenge the prospective student. A pharmacist in China, for example, would make little money and he or she would be working every day to make ends meet. As for a place on the healthcare team, you can forget about it. Pharmacists in other countries are poorly thought of and would not be considered true healthcare professionals. On the other hand, getting into a medical school in China is very difficult. After one enters and graduates from medical school, he or she would still be required to perform a residency in the United States for a minimum of 3 years. Despite all of this, it is apparently pretty easy for a foreign graduate to get a Pharmacy License in just about any state by taking a couple of simple exams such as the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination and a Test of Spoken English. Throw in a few hundred dollars and you basically have bought a Pharmacy License.
The biggest consequence in all of this is the rise in prescription errors. I have seen it over and over again at different pharmacies and settings. These pharmacists and pharmacies are a danger to public’s health and safety. Another effect these foreign pharmacists are having is that they are over saturating the job market. I can live with the fact that another pharmacist gets the job I was looking for. There are many competent and very good pharmacists out there in the marketplace. They are mentally very sharp and do their job very well. However, when I see a pharmacist make errors repeatedly, I start thinking to myself, “How can this person not know what they are doing? Where did this person even go to school?” And on most occasions, he or she did not attend a pharmacy school in the United States.
At the end of the day, this country needs to stop just handing out Pharmacy Licenses to anyone who claims to be a pharmacist. A pharmacy education in foreign countries is not equivalent to a pharmacy education in the United States. I am sure there are exceptions to the rule. I am certain there are some highly motivated foreign graduates who proved themselves over and over that they are more than qualified to handle the responsibilities of a pharmacist. I just have yet to see one such pharmacist. In my experience, some schools do a better job of putting capable pharmacists onto the marketplace (UCSF seems to do a good job, in my opinion). Personally, I think all foreign graduates should have to attend pharmacy school in the United States in order to acquire a Pharmacy License (a 3 year or 4 year Pharm.D program). Before someone thinks I am too eco-centric, I was actually born in another country, but I grew up here in America, and English is my primary language. And yes, I am a United States citizen. I just think our profession needs to have a serious discussion on what a pharmacy education in the Unites States is really worth before it is too late.
BEFORE COMMENTING READ THIS:
TheAngriestPharmacist did NOT write this post. He has not commented about the validity, certitude, or accuracy of anything written in the post or in ANY of the comments. Please stop submitting comments accusing TAestP of racism, discrimination, or having anything to do with this post. I only posted this because the author asked to use my site as a place to reach many pharmacists. I will not post accusatory comments about myself. I will delete them and ban the author from the site entirely. If you have an opinion, feel free to post it. Keep the other pointless shit off my site.
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For what it’s worth, this guy could be completely full of shit. I’ve never met a foreign graduate, let alone one that didnt know the difference between Keppra and Keflex. If you think this is crazy, say so…
I worked with a foreign pharmacist who didn’t know the what penicillin and tylenol #3 were. A customer asked the question which was the pain med and which was the antibiotic and she was unable to answer. She was from India. I had another who was from Jordan and he was bright but did not have much drug knowledge and didn’t know anything really about American retail pharmacies even though that where he wanted to work. Foreign grads in my experience do not learn the same things as grads here although I’ve met a lot of stupid American grads too.
I’m a foreign gard pharmacist and I admit some foreign grads are bad, the same way that some American pharmacists are bad. My NAPLEX score was 139 and I think the national average is around 105. Do not generalize and stereotype people while overlooking the corporations and schools greed. The foreign pharmacists went through the system, and they worked hard to get their license. If you think your system is incompetent, oh well, it is the same system that you had to go through to get your license. It is the board of pharmacy who can judge a pharmacist’s competency, not you. Your post is violating the pharmacy code of ethics. To your knowledge, no more than 800 foreign pharmacists get licensed in the US every year.
Eh, I dont have an issue per-se with Foreign RPh’s knowledge per-se, but their lack of english communication skills with not only the patient but others in the medical field.
Remember that you still need to pass the state boards to practice pharmacy here; and I know a few RPh’s who passed the infamous old California Essay Boards who really shouldn’t be working in a pharmacy.
Remember that South Park episode where they were bitching about the Goo-Backs and ‘DEY TOOK R JUUUBS’?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by roguerph, Angriest Pharmacist. Angriest Pharmacist said: New Post to TheAngriestPharmacist.com: Foreign Graduate Problem? http://www.theangriestpharmacist.com/2011/02/21/foreign-graduate-problem/ [...]
I agree with the author. We have tons of shit for brains foreign pharmacists who are worse than the worst floaters. Actually they usually are the floaters. Their biggest setback in my opinion is the cultural barrier in communicating with the general public. Usually too serious for their own good. They tend to be book smart with no common sense. I know requirements here are 1500 hours and passing the NAPLEX but that’s not enough.
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I’m a pharmacy student in England, so I can’t comment on how pharmacists are, but I can put some input in terms of the teaching.
We do four years of study at university, and then one year of training (similar to the residency, I think, except that it’s shorter). The teaching is made to cover a lot, so brief in some areas, but that’s where individual learning comes into the picture. Sadly, there’s many who just don’t care. They see it as a get rich quick scheme, thinking ‘community (retail) pharmacy = empty bottles and get money’.
At the end of the degree, we get a Masters, not Doctorate. So I guess that if someone from the UK wanted to work in the US, they would have to pass exams that are above the level of their previous studies. To get a DPharm (PharmD) we would have to do another 5 years of part time studies mixed with hospital practice; you rarely get community pharmacists with a DPharm.
What I’m trying to say is that UK Graduates don’t have the same qualification as a US pharmacist would have, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were noticeable differences. However, I’m only a second year student and have an idea about the differences between Keppra and Keflex, and that was before checking to see that I was thinking of the same things. So maybe some of that is bullcrap.
Yes, that guy is full of shit. The local grad should feel embarassed by this guy admitting he graduated in the U.S.! I am a foreign graduate I hate to see this guy is as ignorant as hell! First of all no matter where a person graduates and how many years we study Pharmacy and no matter how many exams they give in our way, everybody, even local grads have to pass the same Naplex or state board exams required. He’s a dimwit! Does he know all the floaters he gets in the pharmacy? Does he ask everyone of them where they gaduate to come to that conclusion? Believe me, even local grads will admit that there are some stupid local grads put there.
I pity this guy’s ignorance.
Interesting read. For the most part, I agree that foreign graduates are a small problem. Mostly it’s 2 reasons
1. Them moving to your country means it leaves their (usually less-than-developed) country short of pharmacists
2. They cannot speak fluent English in a job where you MUST be able to speak perfect English.
I am fine with foreign-born pharmacists, so long as the majority of their education was in a similar country or the country they intend to work in (in other words, they are familiar with western ideals, idiosyncrasies and most importantly, the language)
Here in Australia, many of the pharmacy students I study with are from other countries (primarily Taiwan, Indonesia and China). Even some of the pharmacists I work beside are foreigners, however all the ones I’ve worked with have lived here for several years before hand, or done their entire degree in Australia, so there is no language barrier, but I have encountered other students who fail subjects, cannot perform counseling and so on because they lack English skills. This is not the case all the time, but it is something that needs to be increasingly strict if we want to maintain or improve the quality of pharmacy services.
I actually find it interesting that in America you are required to do an extra 2-4 years of education however. 5 or 6 years I could understand, but frankly 8 is probably not even needed, the entire first year of my degree was a colossal waste of time. That’s just my opinion however. These days, Australia is one of the only countries that still does a bachelor, everyone else has gone on to a 6 year masters or, as in Americas case, the 8 year doctorate. Regardless most pharmacists seem to learn more in practice than they do in university.
Being someone who tried (and failed due to the removal of the UK test out system) to go through this system…I have looked into the requirements for overseas pharmers here in the US. Yes…they have to pass a exam. Yes…they had to meet a number of minimum hours of internship to acquire a license. Yes…they must pass an English exam (as I did for the UK). Yes…MANY of these folks were sponsored by the large chains. No…the rest of the world does NOT take pride in medication therapy as we do. No…their education is not equivalent.
I have worked with plenty of NATIVE US grad who could give a flying rat’s ass and will fill anything that’s written….and we KNOW better. I have worked with the semi-retired who can’t remember which are Benzo’s and therefore you can’t just give some to get by.
Some people are just idiots with test taking ability…regardless of birth or language skills. Building bigger walls to entry isn’t the answer. Maybe the answer is trying to educate said offnder WHILE reporting their errors and let the respective dimwits go down in their own flames…..
Eh, no, this is not crazy. Kudos to this guy for having the balls to call a spade a spade. He’s right on the money about foreign pharmacists. Last summer, we suffered through a male Indian Pharmacist who – no BS – Had to be told by our new 20 y/o tech where a vagina was located on a female’s body mid-counseling a patient. I died a little after hearing this story the following day. He claimed to have attended a program at North Dakota State for 2 years after graduating from -where ever- in India, and told us that was the only place in The US that would accept transcripts from the college he attended in India. He then applied for licensing in my state in November, which he got. As fate would have it, his wife, having the same credentials from the same institutions both here and abroad, applied in January, and was DENIED. They raised hell with the BOP, who made no bones about it – They stated him being licensed was an ERROR. Aside from the fact I think he was a real jackass personally, professionally he was a bomb.
Part of adjusting to the pharmacy on another country is that each drug is marketed under different trade names. E.g. Keflex is Keflet in the UK. Second, most other countries (I known of the UK, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand), don’t buy bulk and dispense into pill bottles, the drugs all come in unit dose packaging, thus reducing a lot of possible drug errors. Third, international comparisons show US pharmacies dispense more prescriptions per hour than similar pharmacies in the UK and Australia, so they’re not used to working as fast.
I do agree with you that our US education is more comprehensive. I also think international pharmacies may be setup for fewer errors, so the environment makes international pharmacists seem sloppy in US pharmacies. They rely on the system, we rely on the pharmacist.
How good a pharmacist is doesn’t depend on whether it’s a BSc or PharmD. I’ve seen jackass PharmDs who are so proud of their degrees but cannot compare to other pharmacists with BSc. It’s other personal characteristics that make a good pharmacist.
Angriest… this guy IS full of shit. He’s bitter about missing out on a job/promotion to someone who happened to be a little darker color than he did.
If not, then let’s see some stats to back this up. I want to see the data that show a rise in RX errors corresponding with increased prevalence of foreign grads. You say you’ve personally witnessed this, so please give us a few (fairly detailed) examples.
Please show me the state(s) that are giving out RPh licenses based on “a couple of simple exams.” All the states that I know require a NAPLEX and MPJE score. Several states (e.g., NY) have their OWN additional exams. So please point out the states that are just letting new grads — foreign or not — take a couple of quick and easy tests and become licensed.
This letter is a piece of very, VERY thinly veiled racism.
No. Prolly not full of shit. I have attempted to txf rx’s from ‘RPh’s whose English was so bad we could not complete it and I had to call back after shift change. I think JP at large has written about this issue as well. And, yes, I too was born somewhere else and chose to move here, blend in, and create life here.
Ive never heard of any foreign pharmacist that stupid, but I will toss this into the ring. I have had the opportunity to be the “preceptor” if you call it that for 2 foreign pharmacists who were educated out side the US and were obtaining the US lisence. they had to do certain amount of hours before they could sit for the board exam. Both were very nice but struggled mightily with two things: Communication with patients because of their accents: one was Ukranian and one was Japanese (both had great difficulty in counseling), and drug knowledge…most specifically WHAT the drug was. Once it was identified they were ok, but they didn’t know (or had trouble transcribing) prescriptions. For example the Japanese lade transcribed a phone prescription for “Zanacks”. She had no idea what Zanacks was. Had it not been for the strength, I would have had no idea either… It was supposed to be Xanax It was a chronic issue for her and I didn’t have a lot of faith in her transcriptions of oral orders.
Handing out licenses? Is that really the case? New York is pretty tough to get licensure from another country, you take the NAPLEX right?
Since when is the NAPLEX difficult? We in California had our own exam for years in an effort to keep the NAPLEX-competent out. I passed both exams with flying colors, but the star student in my class (another state of course) failed the California exam not once, not twice, but four times. The big chains bought off the State Board and sold us all out; the 10,000 foreigners admitted to practice here in the last five years are testament to that. Had any calls from a headhunter lately? Me neither– used to get at least two a week, but now there are plenty of assorted ethnicities to pollute my job pool.
Most countries have a 4 year program because they finish their secondary general education at 18 and then begin actual pharmacy sciences that Summer. I have had two children go through high school in the USA and the high school education is so bad that, at 18, they are truly years behind a U.K GCSE-A level graduate who has spent two years already concentrating only on sciences from the age of 16-18.
THAT IS WHY IT IS A 6 YEAR DEGREE IN THE USA. THAT IS WHY THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF COLLEGE HERE ARE CALLED THE BASICS. The PharmD is a masters program and nothing more. You can call it what you like.
I went to school at Kings College London and we had a very intense training, especially in medicinal chemistry and drug design. The level of literacy and English language skills among US pharmacists would be viewed as poor compared to a UK graduate. I will admit that their are some language barriers in rural areas but that is chiefly because many of those people have lived their whole lives in the USA and speak very poor English.
Those who grew up speaking another language, whose English is bad, can just as easily get through college here and continue to have language difficulties.
Finally, I might point out that the number of Doctors in this country who were trained abroad, especially in India, is a statistic that won’t surprise many.
I get that people don’t generally use the term “Doctorate” in the UK… but there’s nothing wrong with calling it a doctorate here in the states. (The program WAS changed and now is considered to reward a doctorate level degree) Regardless, it’s a degree you work your fucking ass off for here and the GPA +program requirements are only continually being raised.
And comparing the literacy level of a US pharmacist to a UK pharmacist? C’mon…get over it. We’re talking about foreign pharmacists who take “English Second Language” classes…not comparing those who can and cannot interperet Shakespeare.
This is true in continental Europe as well (not that they don’t graduate a lot of dumb people–but the abject lack of education+high school diploma is unique to the US among first world countries, as aggregate test score performance by country will show). I don’t hear a lot of complaints about continental Europeans flooding the US pharmacy market.
However, the Asian graduates in all technical fields are a real problem. The truly gifted ones go into PhD programs and are replacing native born who see no job prospects there (but the foreign born often have good prospects if they return with that degree to their country), but too many go to degree mill/cram school institutions in their own country and try to pass off that flimsy degree here. Only MD’s have protection, thanks to 20th century anti-semitism. US MD’s were afraid of German Jews competing with them as they were fleeing Germany in the 1930′s. In the 1930′s a German MD was worth a LOT more than a US MD. Thus, foreign-acquired MD’s must go through hoops, even from countries with standards close to or exceeding the US, and thus you can feel confident about a person with a foreign MD because they basically had to go back to school and requalify here.
The influx, though, is a major problem in other professions because the professional certifications are often flimsy, the exams can easily be crammed for, and of course even the US graduates vary in skills and qualification because there are too many for-profit learning institutions or non-profits who treat it more like a money-printing machine.
Ask any software engineer… sure, lots of clowns call themselves that, but only a few really really know their shit (because they have to know a lot of advanced mathematics as well as some EE to understand the physical characteristics of the hardware and how it will respond to the code they are writing, etc). Some may have years of experience with really technical programming languages and applications. But some PHB will sweep in and decide that some H1Bs can do it just as well… never mind that they sucked up all the competent coders in India and Pakistan a decade ago and the cost overruns, delays, and errors will long-term cost them more (lost customers, liquidated damages).
Native born go into soul-crushing defense jobs because they can get clearances and foreign born can’t. Well, usually can’t. There were those Chinese spies that were working in a national nuclear laboratory. They probably got in because of the lack of US PhD’s… because native born don’t see any job prospects in it… I’m sure the perps were well-rewarded in China…
I just wanted to add a few cents on this topic, although it’s a month old. There are several foreign students currently in my classroom. I guess there is another way to work in the US, but our foreign pharmacy students were practicing pharmacists back in their native countries (China, Thailand, etc.). They were accepted into our pharmacy program as second year students are will be completing our program here at our school. I assumed this was the way it went everywhere, but maybe not.
SERIOUSNESS DEPENDS ON THE INDIVIDUAL WHETHER A FOREIGN PHARMACIST OR NOT. ARE YOU SURE YOU DON’T HAVE DUMBHEAD AMERICAN COLLEGE GRADUATES TOO? ITS A JOB IN WHICH YOU HAVE TO CARE FOR THOSE YOU SERVE.
Based on the all caps, I’d say we have offended a foreign grad…
I know this is an old post but I felt compelled to comment. I’m a foreign graduate myself, currently accumulating the 1500 hours of internship that I need before taking the Naplex. From what I’ve read, it seems that the process has changed a lot in the past few years, but basically, here’s how it works: you need to pass the Toefl (test of english as a foreign language), you must have had at least 5 years of pharmacy school if you graduated after 2003, you need to pass a foreign pharmacist graduate exam, then you do your internship (this part varies by state) and take the naplex.
The details on my story: I’m from Brazil, where I went to pharmacy school for 6 years. We don’t have the equivalent to undergrad studies, you go straight into pharmacy-related subjects. I have passed the Toefl with a perfect score and while I do talk with a slight accent here and there, you couldn’t tell English is not my native language unless I told you. I have passed the FPGEE with a very good score as well. I had a good job and I lived comfortably back home. My husband happens to be American, so I made the decision to move. It seemed obvious to me, given that I had no doubts that I would be able to work as a pharmacist either here, or there.
Fast foward a couple years to the present, as I’m just counting the hours to get my license, and I realize how wrong I was. Not that I would be able to do my job, oh no, but that I was going to have to work twice as hard to prove myself to a close minded, xenophobic culture. The whole certification process with the NABP is exaustive. The foreign graduate exam only happens twice a year. If the NABP misplaces your file (happened to me) and misses the deadline, you end up wasting another 6 months working as a tech (happened to me). When I finally do get my intern license, my big chain pharmacy won’t hire me as an intern. Not because I’m a slacker or incompetent, I assure you. I’ve always had great feedback from my pharmacists and fellow techs, and I know I always work my hardest. My pharmacist has never had to watch me when I counsel a patient. I am writting down hours, have a license and a name tag that say I’m an intern, I have all the job duties of an intern, but still show as a tech in their system. Supposedly because they wouldn’t have a spot for me when I passed the Naplex. But in the meantime I know they’ve hired new interns and pharmacists.
Does this make me feel discriminated? Do posts like this make me feel discriminated? Well, that would be a generalization on my part, to assume that everyone out there is out to get me. I’m sure that the people I directly work with know I’m not a dimwit. I understand that companies have subjective reasons when deciding who to hire. Sometimes these decisions are made by district managers who have never even met the candidate. I want to believe that most people are smart enough to understand that there’re also dumbasses graduating in US colleges, and also bright people graduating in other countries, and that I am not just an exception to this made up rule that says foreign graduates are stupid.
Oh and will I look for a job that deserves me? Of course, and I know I will do a great job there too.
Thanks Beta ,
I know exactly what you are talking about , and I do feel the discrimination,
and I don’t think the angriest is a real pharmacist or the people he mentions are real .
Where does Angriest get all that negative energy and hate !!!!!!!LOL
Notice, I did not write the post nor have I even made much comment/opinion. I allowed someone to use my site as a venue. I allowed there to be a discussion. I advocate no discrimination, and take no position on the content of this post or any of the comments. So, TAestP has no negative energy in regards to this post. He doesn’t discriminate in regards to this post’s subject matter. And to say I’m not a real pharmacist tells me you haven’t read ANY other post on this website. I do agree that I have plenty of negative energy thanks to the many stupid people I deal with day in and day out — at work and on this very website.
“With regards to the fact that “you must have had at least 5 years of pharmacy school if you graduated after 2003″…
Does that mean every graduate from countries such as NZ, Australia etc which all have 4 year degrees, cannot work as pharmacists in America at all?
Who knows. Ask the NABP. Or review their website.
I happen to agree with the author of this article. I worked my butt off to get into pharmacy school. I worked 13 years as a pharmacy technician and during those years I have met many pharmacists. I met a pharmacist from India years ago that told me that it is very easy to get a green card if you are a pharmacist from another country due to the previous pharmacist shortage. He said they “put you at the front of the line” if you have a degree in certain professions that are in high demand here in the US. I feel what the author of the above article is saying is true. I don’t feel that our profession is being protected in any way. I don’t feel its fair that I have to compete with a foreign pharmacist for a job. I get out of school owing close to 100k and many, if not all, of the foreign graduates come here debt free. Why should we have to compete with a foreign pharmacist?? …. and this isn’t a race thing … this is an American thing. Since this past shortage not only have I seen a huge influx of foreign pharmacists, I have also seen more and more pharmacy schools opening … mostly these satellite campuses. In Florida, there use to be 3 schools of pharmacy: UF, FAMU (lol) and NOVA. As of right now, UF has opened 3 satellite campuses, NOVA has opened a few satellite campuses, LECOM has opened a satellite campus and Palm Beach Atlantic added a pharmacy school. Now guess what?? University of South Florida has opened a pharmacy school. So now we have (if counting all the satellite campuses) 12 pharmacy schools here in Florida!
So are you complaining about foreign graduates or about recently-opened-school graduates? Or both? Either way, your work history prior to being a pharmacist and your student debt are absolutely irrelevant, as is your illusion that the immigration process for the US is ever quick and easy (it’s long, complicated, and expensive).
Bah…just marry a stupid, rich white guy…
The points in my comment were taken from people that I know who went through the immigration process. It may be harder now but it wasn’t no too long ago. I’m sorry if this struck a nerve with you but its the truth.
Theangriestpharmacist,
For you kind information, I know a pharmacist who does not know the difference between steroids and antibiotics, and he is graduated from US college.
Notice, I did not write the post nor have I even made much comment/opinion. I allowed someone to use my site as a venue. I allowed there to be a discussion. I advocate no discrimination, and take no position on the content of this post or any of the comments.
I’m working at JFK hospital in Indio where they basically hired a lot of South Korean Pharmacist who barely speak English and have trouble communicating to us the RN. I wish they will hire Pharm D from the US instead of saving money and putting the public at risk (90% patients are Mexican). I’m a Mexican myself and I hope JFK CEO would read this.
This is all rubbish. Plenty of pharmacy jobs in the USA. Its all about how good you are? Don’t be jealous of other people’s success. USA is the land of opportunity. Don’t judge people by their origin, language, color.
You are incorrect. Pharmacist jobs are not plentiful everywhere. If you wish to move to a rural area you may have better luck, but who wants that?
I like to comment on the Pharmacist profession from the perspective of educational requirements and the practicing environment.
We have couple of categories or levels of pharmaceutical practice that need to be categorized with actual task performed versus educational requirement.
The retail pharmacy is a no brainer. you absolutely don’t need a DPharm for it.
The retail pharmacist’s duty is to just simply follow the Dr’s orders and fill it. This can be done by a Pharmacy Tech too (it is expected of the tech). The only additional requirement at retail is substituting generics for preferred. This can be accomplished with an Associates degree followed by intensive 1 yr training and continuing requirement to know new drugs and generics. As a matter of fact the FDA or some agency can certify and publish a list of generics, and the retail pharmacist at my recommended level of education (Associates + training) can easily perform the task and this task of counting tablets and mixing syrup suspension does not need a D Pharm.
A second pharmacist setting is in a hospital where you make IVs and custom formulations at the advice of a Dr. This is a little bit more involved and here a Bachelor of Pharm is required.
The third category is in Drug design, manufacture, testing and trials where a DPharm should be a minimum because you use the knowledge learned to develop new drugs where you need to know the chemistry , biology and human anatomy and the inner workings.
So to summarize the Pharmacist job at retail level is over blown and does not require a $100K person with a DPharm. It is a scam created by the Pharmacy association to protect their jobs, and artificially create a demand and protect their interests. At the end of the day all this costs us more money for medical care.
My $.01 worth comment- it used to be $.02 – inflation due to medical care has reduced even the value of my comment!
Every foreign rph our chain has is either asian or indian. Accents so thick the customers ask them to repeat themselves. Their knowledge of drugs is lacking. I have one indian rph who calls daily to ask drug questions. Several rphs all indian are on the phone most of the day speaking in whatever dialect they use. Personal calls all day everyday. Counseling..forget about it. One indian rph said and i quote, “i only check rxs”. Another would snap his fingers at the tech to fetch him the baskets of rxs to check. Not a racist but some need to be sent back to india.