An Entry-to-Practice PharmD degree can open up a number of exciting and diverse career paths. Below are some fields of practice in this ever-evolving profession.

Community Pharmacists

Community pharmacists are the most visible and accessible healthcare providers. These pharmacists work in a retail setting and dispense prescription medicines, counsel patients about the safe and effective use of medicines and management of chronic diseases, advise on over-the-counter products, monitor for drug interactions, provide health services (such as vaccines and blood pressure screening), and assess and prescribe for common ailments (such as acne, allergies, pink eye, UTIs (urinary tract infections), to name a few). This is a diverse, exciting field of practice that is constantly evolving due to changes in pharmacist scope of practice.

Primary Care Clinic Pharmacists

Typically, pharmacists working in primary-care clinic work within an interdisciplinary health-care team and focus on managing patients with chronic conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc. They may conduct detailed medication reviews to ensure patients are taking optimal medication regimens to manage their particular health problems, prescribe for common ailments (such as acne, allergies, pink eye, UTIs (urinary tract infections), etc.) and educating patients concerning appropriate use of their medications.  

Ambulatory Care Pharmacists

Pharmacists may work in specialized ambulatory care clinics in areas such as oncology (cancer), thrombosis, and dialysis, among others. They often work in interdisciplinary-care teams in out-patient settings, and help to manage chronic diseases by optimizing medication therapy in these specialized areas.

Hospital Pharmacists

Hospital pharmacists play an important role in improving patient care by working closely with physicians, nurses, and other health-care professionals as part of multidisciplinary teams. They participate in patient-care rounds, manage and monitor drug therapy, and help prevent medication errors and side effects. Hospital pharmacists provide drug information, contribute to care-plan decisions, and support patients through education and discharge counselling. Hospital pharmacists can work in many different areas based on their interests, such as general medicine, critical care, pediatrics, oncology, ambulatory care, or research to help improve patient outcomes and the quality of care within the hospital.

Compounding Pharmacists

Compounding pharmacists prepare customized medications by mixing ingredients to create medicines that are not available commercially. This area of pharmacy helps to personalize medications to improve adherence and bridge gaps in therapy. Compounding may involve altering medication forms (such as turning a pill into a liquid), adjusting strengths, changing the taste of medicines, and removing allergens. Compounding is common in the treatment fields of dermatology, HRT (hormone replacement therapy), and pain management. 

Drug Information Pharmacists

Drug information (DI) pharmacists generally have specialized training in evaluating literature about medicines and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM). They provide unbiased information about medicines to health-care providers and government bodies to support patient-centered-care decisions.

Pharmaceutical Industry Pharmacists

Pharmacists in pharmaceutical companies work across the product lifecycle, from research and development (R&D) to marketing and regulatory affairs. Key roles include conducting clinical trials, managing regulatory submissions, ensuring quality control, developing drug formulations, providing medical information, and handling commercial, sales, or marketing activities. 

Advocacy Pharmacists

Pharmacists also have a role in advocating for the pharmacy profession. These pharmacists promote patient safety and rights while advancing the profession through education and policy changes at various levels of government. In addition to attempting to improve access to affordable medicines and health services, they also lobby on behalf of the profession for expanded roles and responsibilities for pharmacists.

Regulatory Pharmacists

In Canada, each province has a regulatory body (e.g., The College of Pharmacy of Newfoundland and Labrador) for the practice of pharmacy. Pharmacists who work on these regulatory bodies are responsible for monitoring the registration and licensing of pharmacy professionals, engaging in provincial pharmacy quality-assurance programs, and developing standards, guidelines and policies for pharmacy practice, with the mission of protecting public safety.

Provincial Drug Plan and Insurance Pharmacists

Pharmacists can also play a role in supporting drug coverage decisions from within health insurance providers and provincial drug plans. These pharmacists assess applications for special authorizations for medications not traditionally covered.

Pharmacist Educators and Academics

Some pharmacists choose to work at universities to help educate the next generation of pharmacists. This can involve classroom teaching, mentoring and supervising students at different stages of their learning journey, conducting research and publishing articles, and/or adopting administrative roles to help with the running of the school or faculty. Qualifications for working in academic settings often require degrees at the Master’s or PhD level, in addition to the Entry-to-Practice PharmD.

Pharmacist Researchers

Pharmacist researchers contribute to the discovery of new knowledge related to the pharmaceutical sciences or pharmacy practice; this may include drug discovery, evaluating medication safety and efficacy by conducting clinical trials, or involve other types of applied health research. Pharmacist researchers can work in academic, industry, hospital or clinical settings. Pharmacists who chose to conduct research in academic settings generally have Master’s or PhD degrees in addition to the Entry-to-Practice PharmD.

In reality, most pharmacists fulfill a number of roles over their career and may simultaneously fill more than one role. If you would like to know more about careers in pharmacy, please email: pharmadmissions@mun.ca