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Department of BiologyPre-Pharmacy - Pharmacology Program |
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Pharmacists prepare and dispense
drugs.
They work with physicians in ensuring that patients receive the maximal
benefit and least harm from medications. Pharmacists are an
important
pillar of American health care.
Pharmacologists research the effects of drugs and seek new medicines Saint Joseph's College gives students the basic foundations plus several advanced courses to prepare students for entry to pharmacy and pharmacology schools. Most of our students take the premed program in a biology or biology-chemistry major. More below |
A. - Pharmacy in General
B. - Pre-Pharmacy at Saint Joseph's College
NOTE: Dr. Cheryl Wistrom, one of our Biology-Chemistry faculty is also a Pharmacist. She also can give you advice on this field. Click here for Dr. Wistrom's faculty page. Dr. Wistrom can be contacted here,
A. - PHARMACY IN GENERAL - There are three main types of Pharmacy:
1. Retail Pharmacy
2. Hospital Pharmacy
3. Home Care Pharmacy
1. Retail Pharmacy - a retail pharmacy can be
described
as a community or neighborhood pharmacy. The majority of patients
visiting a retail pharmacy are those who:
bring in a
written
prescription after seeing a doctor
have private
health insurance
A retail pharmacy carries drugs that are on the formulary of several
private insurance companies, and so it carries a greater variety of
drugs
than hospital pharmacy. Examples of retail pharmacy are
Walgreens,
Rite Aid, and Longs Drugs
2. Hospital Pharmacy - there are 2 types of hospital
pharmacy:
inpatient and outpatient pharmacy
I.inpatient pharmacy - This
mainly provides medication and prepares injectables for patients
staying
in
the hospital. Pharmacy personnel mainly communicate with doctors
and nurses because
their patients do not "physically" bring in their prescription
II.outpatient pharmacy - This
is similar to a retail pharmacy but in a hospital setting. It
mainly
provides service to
patients who can "physically" bring in their prescription to pharmacy.
Most patients have insurance provided by the government
A hospital pharmacy's formulary is determined by the hospital
P & T (Pharmacy & Therapeutics) committee
A hospital pharmacy cannot afford to carry a variety of the
same drug, so its drug selection is more limited and has less variety
than
a retail pharmacy
3. Home Care Pharmacy - This is also known as home infusion
pharmacy.
It:
- mainly prepares injectables and delivers them
to patients who are critically ill at home
- does not dispense oral or external-use medications
- pharmacy personnel often receives orders
from doctors but still needs to communicate with nurses and the patient
to ensure proper drug administration
Examples of home care pharmacy are Nupharm, Home Pharmacy of California, and Health Care Pharmacy
B. - Pre-Pharmacy at Saint Joseph's College.
Students interested in Pharmacy usually obtain a Bachelor degree and then apply to Colleges of Pharmacy. Students at SJC who are interested in Pharmacy usually major in Biology or Biology-Chemistry. Elective courses that are of interest to Pre-Pharmacy students include: Basic and Advanced Microbiology, Biochemistry and Human Medical Physiology. You may also be able to take Diseases and Pharmacologic Treatment, but you need the permission of the Department Chair and Registrar to have it count toward your major.
1. COURSES - Work VERY HARD at Introductory biology and Introductory
Chemistry. Doing VERY WELL in these two courses does MANY things
for your chances for getting into medical school. IF YOU
STUDY
HARD YOU GET:
A. a good GPA
B. good preparation for later biology and chemistry courses
2. GRADES - SJC Bio majors need to be getting above a 3.4 if they want to get into Pharmacy Schools. You may think you can get lower grades now and improve later, but this is very hard to do.
3. PHARMACY SCHOOLS – You need to check out the Pharmacy Schools that you might apply to. Each can have different prerequisites for entry. The sooner you know these, the better. It’s usually good to begin looking during your freshman year. Examine possible schools on the internet. Colleges of Pharmacology can be found by clicking here. http://www.ncpanet.org/LINKS/rxschoollinks.html
Click here for the home page for The American College of Clinical Pharmacy Association.
A large amount of information on Pharmacy can be found on the internet, e.g. at http://www.cpb.uokhsc.edu/pharmacy/pharmint.html