Pharmacists, also known as chemists or druggists, are health professionals who specialize in the safe and effective use of medications, as they are knowledgeable about the composition, effects, metabolism, mechanism of action, mobility and toxicity of drugs. Using knowledge of the mechanism of action of drugs, the pharmacist understands how they should be used to achieve maximum benefit, minimal side effects and to avoid drug interactions. Pharmacists undergo university or graduate-level education to understand the biochemical mechanisms and actions of drugs, drug uses, therapeutic roles, side effects, potential drug interactions, and monitoring parameters. This is mated to anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology. Pharmacists interpret and communicate this specialized knowledge to patients, physicians, and other health care providers.
A Doctor of Pharmacy is a professional doctorate in pharmacy. In some countries, it is a first professional degree and a prerequisite for licensing to practice the profession of pharmacy or to become a clinical pharmacist. In many countries they are allowed to practice independently and can prescribe drugs directly to patients. A PharmD program has significant experiential or clinical education components in introductory and advanced levels for the safe and effective use of drugs. Experiential education prepares graduates to be practice-ready, as they already have spent a significant amount of time training in areas of direct patient care and research. A PharmD graduate is entitled to prefix their name with "Dr."
A pharmacy technician is a title-protected, licensed health care provider who performs pharmacy-related functions, working collaboratively with a licensed pharmacist.
Touro University California is a private graduate school focused primarily on health professions and located on Mare Island in Vallejo, California. It is part of the Touro College and University System and is jointly administered with its sister campus Touro University Nevada.
The McWhorter School of Pharmacy is an American pharmacy school located in Birmingham, Alabama. The school offers a four-year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) degree, and is nationally accredited by the ACPE.
The Appalachian College of Pharmacy (ACP), formerly known as the University of Appalachia, College of Pharmacy, is a private doctoral pharmacy school located in Oakwood, Virginia. The school, established in 2003, is Virginia's only three-year accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy program. ACP's mission is to improve the health outcomes of rural and underserved communities, particularly those in Central Appalachia, through education, service, and scholarship.
The basic requirement for pharmacists to be considered for registration is an undergraduate or postgraduate pharmacy degree from a recognized university. In many countries, this involves a four- or five-year course to attain a master of pharmacy degree (MPharm). In the United States of America, students graduating after January 1, 2003, must complete a doctor of pharmacy degree to become a licensed pharmacist. This same requirement has been coming into place in other countries such as Canada and France.
Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy, is a school of tertiary education in pharmacy, a branch of Nova Southeastern University. The Dean is Lisa Deziel, Pharm.D., Ph.D. It offers an entry level Doctor of Pharmacy program in three sites, an international program in Davie and a Post-Baccalaureate program for pharmacy graduates. The College also hosts a number of post-graduate residency programs. The College of Pharmacy admitted its first class in 1987 to become the only College of Pharmacy in South Florida. Because of the profession's demand for greater clinical specialization, the College has since discontinued its baccalaureate degree program. The college is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).
Education in Northern Cyprus is organized by the Ministry of National Education and Culture. 5 years of primary education is mandatory. As of 2015, Kemal Dürüst is the Minister of National Education and Culture.
UIC College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois Chicago is one of the oldest pharmacy schools in the country, and oldest unit of the University of Illinois system. Established in 1859, the College is consistently ranked in the national top 10 for both pharmacy education and in pharmaceutical research, and is renowned for its seamless integration of educational, pharmacy services, and research programs. With outstanding research and clinical faculty, which are one of the largest in the country, UIC has some of the longest-standing and most sought-after pharmacy residency, fellowship, and graduate programs in the world. With a network of over 10,000 alumni, graduates of the UIC College of Pharmacy are leaders in pharmacy practice, pharmaceutical industry, and academia across the US and abroad.
Educational accreditation is a quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated and verified by an external body to determine whether applicable and recognized standards are met. If standards are met, accredited status is granted by the appropriate agency.
SIUE School of Pharmacy is an academic unit of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville located in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. Opened in 2005, it is one of six pharmacy schools in Illinois and the only one located outside the Chicago metropolitan area.
The University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is located in Buffalo, NY. The school is the only state pharmacy school in New York and is part of the SUNY system through the State University of New York at Buffalo.
The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy is one of six colleges within the public University of Hawai'i at Hilo. The school awards a four-year Doctor of Pharmacy degree (Pharm.D.) and is by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
The Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon (FFULisboa) is a Portuguese public institution of higher education dedicated to education, research, knowledge transfer and continuing education in the fields of pharmacy, medicine, and pharmaceutical sciences.
The Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners (JCPP) is the largest professional delegation representing the interests of pharmacists within the United States. JCPP represents 13 professional associations in the field of pharmacy, developing consensus policy directives for the profession. It is well known for the 2014 development of "The Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process," which provides broad, consensus guidelines for how clinical pharmacists should practice.
The University of Iowa College of Pharmacy is an accredited pharmacy school located in Iowa City, Iowa. The college offers three undergraduate certificates, four areas of graduate study leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, and a four-year professional program leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree. University of Iowa Pharmaceuticals (UIP), an FDA-registered manufacturer, is housed within the college. UIP is the largest and longest-running university-affiliated pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in the U.S.
