Why are pharmacists not Doctors, they do similar years to Med/Dental students?

Cos they are not expected to have the same ability as doctors.

They are just there to make sure if the prescription says.....Citalopram 20 mg tablets (28), you get 28 tablets of Citalopram 20 mg and nothing else. They also query doses, but thats rare.

But they do offer a lot more services now then before (a decade ago). So I was just thinking, if patients consulted with pharmacists it would ease pressure off the GP's, which would allow more patient care with regards to medications prescribed, advice and reassurance.
I think we'd have a better health care service.

Pharmacists are under enough pressure. We are understaffed and overworked. We don't have 10 mins to spend with each customer, if you want that to happen, pass a law that requires more pharmacists and dispensers per pharmacy.

If you come to a pharmacy with a problem, 99% of the time the remedy is on the shelf. You are just wasting the pharmacists time. "Oh I have a cold", now come on dear, just take some Dayquil or something, you don't need to be the brain of britain to figure that out.

That's true

This is speaking from experience by the way, I've worked in such an establishment for an awfully long time.

We are so understaffed its amazing, I have to stop what im doing mid job to see a customer, it's a joke. Pharmacy has become business and in business all they care about is money. They might as well overwork the staff, make them leave and pull in other staff on the fly. That way they keep their nice profit.

This is speaking from experience by the way, I've worked in such an establishment for an awfully long time.

We are so understaffed its amazing, I have to stop what im doing mid job to see a customer, it's a joke. Pharmacy has become business and in business all they care about is money. They might as well overwork the staff, make them leave and pull in other staff on the fly. That way they keep their nice profit.

That's disappointing! I'm starting a pharm course in Sep and was really looking forward to the patient aspect of the job. Is this the situation in only community or in pretty much every type of pharmacy work?

That's disappointing! I'm starting a pharm course in Sep and was really looking forward to the patient aspect of the job. Is this the situation in only community or in pretty much every type of pharmacy work?

That's disappointing! I'm starting a pharm course in Sep and was really looking forward to the patient aspect of the job. Is this the situation in only community or in pretty much every type of pharmacy work?

Same, I think I need to reconsider what I want to do at uni. Aha. (#year12struggles)

To answer the original question, Pharmacists are trained to do a different job. It's like saying why are dentists not medics? The job they do is valued and they know more medications than any doctor would hope to learn. They are also a safety-net to make sure doctors don't accidentally overdose their patients.

Pharmacists in hospitals also play a vital role is suggesting the best medication for a specific patient depending on their comorbidities. Long story short, they're just as qualified as a doctor or dentist, but in pharmacy.

P.S. the dude who stands at the counter and passes over your meds is probably a dispenser/cashier and not a pharmacist. It's the guy in the background that's got the pharmacy degree.

To answer the original question, Pharmacists are trained to do a different job. It's like saying why are dentists not medics? The job they do is valued and they know more medications than any doctor would hope to learn. They are also a safety-net to make sure doctors don't accidentally overdose their patients.

Pharmacists in hospitals also play a vital role is suggesting the best medication for a specific patient depending on their comorbidities. Long story short, they're just as qualified as a doctor or dentist, but in pharmacy.

P.S. the dude who stands at the counter and passes over your meds is probably a dispenser/cashier and not a pharmacist. It's the guy in the background that's got the pharmacy degree.

To answer the original question, Pharmacists are trained to do a different job. It's like saying why are dentists not medics? The job they do is valued and they know more medications than any doctor would hope to learn. They are also a safety-net to make sure doctors don't accidentally overdose their patients.

Pharmacists in hospitals also play a vital role is suggesting the best medication for a specific patient depending on their comorbidities. Long story short, they're just as qualified as a doctor or dentist, but in pharmacy.

P.S. the dude who stands at the counter and passes over your meds is probably a dispenser/cashier and not a pharmacist. It's the guy in the background that's got the pharmacy degree.

Not really, the doctors prescribes it, so therefore he in theory needs to know as much if not more than the pharmacist.

That dude is very capable and sure he may not have a pharmacy degree, but can effectively run the place on his own while the pharmacist just checks what he does.

Is it difficult to get a job in a hospital after pre-reg?

Hate to break it to you but if that's the case a lot of experienced nurses can EASILY do a doctors job. It doesn't happen though because only people with the correct qualification can sort things out when **** hits the fan i.e. when the prescription says 5mg instead of 5mcg. The dispensing isn't hard but the checking and responsibility is.

And pharmacists work alongside doctors and nurses in hospitals. Trust me, I've been training to be a doctor for 5 years!