Overview & Salary
Overview
Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. May advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of medications.
On the job, you would:
- Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability.
- Assess the identity, strength, or purity of medications.
- Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage.
Education
- doctoral degree
- bachelor's degree
Salary
Annual 10th percentile $89,980
Annual median $136,030
Annual 90th percentile $168,650
Knowledge & Skills
Knowledge
Health
- medicine and dentistry
Math and Science
- arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
- chemistry
Arts and Humanities
- English language
Business
- customer service
Skills
Basic Skills
- listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
- reading work related information
Problem Solving
- noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Social
- looking for ways to help people
- understanding people's reactions
Personality & Abilities
Personality
Investigative
People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
- Attention to Detail
- Concern for Others
- Dependability
- Stress Tolerance
- Cooperation
- Integrity
Abilities
Verbal
- communicate by speaking
- listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
- notice when problems happen
- group things in different ways
Math
- add, subtract, multiply, or divide
- choose the right type of math to solve a problem
Attention
- pay attention to something without being distracted