Why Pharmacy?

Pharmacists are an important part of the health care team

Pharmacy students walking

Pharmacists are a vital part of the health care team.  In fact, it’s been noted by the US Surgeon General that many expanded pharmacy practice models as part of a health care team have been shown to improve patient outcomes.  Pharmacists help patients get well, and they do so in a variety of practice settings.  There are over 66,000 community chain pharmacists, 46,000 independent community pharmacists, 40,000 hospital pharmacists, and 21,000 pharmacists in other settings such as government, manufacturing, academic, and other settings. 

Did you know Gatton College of Pharmacy offers experiences in 30+ career paths?

With a national emphasis on healthcare quality, pharmacists are now being employed in areas that are creating a huge demand for pharmacists.  Areas such as transitions of care, physician offices, and medication therapy management consultation centers.

Pharmacists:

—Dispense and compound prescription and non-prescription medications

—Monitor patient health to maximize response to medications

—Advise health care members including physicians and nurses on drug decisions

—Provide expertise on the chemical, biological, and physical composition of drug products

—Discuss medications with patients to optimize their effects.

Check out more resources at pharmacyforme.org.

Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy prepares pharmacists to take care of patients in any practice setting.  The curriculum offers nationally recognized training programs with above average licensing examination board pass rates.  While our graduates have gone on to take care of patients in many different settings, our curriculum enables student pharmacists in particular to appreciate the needs of rural and underserved communities.

Learn more about Gatton's career paths

Pediatric Pharmacy

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy

Community Pharmacy

 

Lifetime Earnings Among Health care



Graph of lifetime earnings for healthcare professions: Physical Therapist $3,963,000; Occupational Therapist $5,768,000; Family Nurse Practitioner $6,485,000; Physician's Asst. $6,556,000; Pharmacist $10,074,000

What is the ROl of a pharmacy education? Pharmacy not only offers a wide variety of high impact career paths but it provides one of the best returns on investment over a lifetime of earnings. Check out the graphic above to see how pharmacy compares to other health science professions.

(Data Source for Graph: https://www.bls.gov/ as of 2/24/23).