Have you ever considered applying for Arizona pharmacy jobs?

Pharmacists are mainly responsible for distributing prescription drugs to people. This is done by advising patients and healthcare professionals on the selection, dosages, interactions, and side effects of various medications.

Those who work in community settings such as a retail or drug store may dispense medications, counsel patients on the use of prescription and over-the-counter medications, and advise patients. Those in healthcare facilities may dispense medications and advise medical staff.

Some pharmacists choose to specialize in a specific drug therapy area, such as intravenous nutrition support, oncology, nuclear pharmacy, geriatric pharmacy, and psychiatric pharmacy.

Other pharmacists may perform research for pharmaceutical companies working to develop new drugs; work in marketing or sales; work for health insurance companies; work for the government; or work at a college.

Anyone interested in becoming a pharmacist should take at least two years of specific professional study and then obtain their Pharm.D. degree from an accredited college or school of pharmacy. The Pharm.D. degree usually takes four years to complete and many students go on to complete a one or two-year residency.

All states require candidates to pass the North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam, and some require you to pass the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam, both of which are administered by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Many states also require pharmacists to undergo a criminal check (Click here).

There were about 269,900 pharmacists throughout the nation during 2008, and that number is expected to grow by 17 percent by 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 65 percent of employees work in retail settings and about 22 percent work in hospitals. The remainder work in mail-order and Internet pharmacies, pharmaceutical wholesalers, offices of physicians, and the federal government.

Employment of pharmacists throughout Arizona is expected to increase by 1,892 jobs, or 43.9 percent, to 6,206 jobs by 2016, according to the Arizona Workforce Informer.

The top industries that employed pharmacists throughout Arizona during 2006 include:

• Health and personal care stores - 27.1 percent
• Grocery stores - 23.3 percent
• General medical and surgical hospitals - 18 percent
• Other general merchandise stores - 6.2 percent
• Electronic shopping and mail-order houses - 5.8 percent
• Offices of physicians - 4.9 percent
• Department stores - 4.6 percent
• Outpatient care centers - 2 percent
• Offices of other health practitioners - 4.9 percent

During 2007, pharmacists throughout Arizona earned an average wage of $46.91 per hour. The average entry-level wage was $33.74 per hour and the average experienced-level wage was $53.50 per hour.

Labels: Arizona pharmacy jobs