Transcript PHARMACY Prescription for a Rewarding Career

PHARMACY
Prescription for a Rewarding Career
©
www.aacp.org/pharmacycareers
www.pharmcas.org
Why Pharmacy?
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A well-rounded career
A vital part of the health care team
Outstanding career opportunities
Excellent earning potential
A trusted profession
Goals of
Pharmaceutical Care
• Cure disease
• Eliminate or reduce symptoms
• Stop or slow a disease
• Prevent disease
• Change physiological processes to
improve the health of a patient with
minimal risk
What Do Pharmacists Do?
• Educate patients about prescription and
over-the-counter medications
• Educate and advise other health care
professionals on drug decisions for patients
• Provide expertise about the composition of
drugs, including chemical, biological and
physical properties, as well as on use
• Ensure drug purity and strength
• Ensure drugs do not interact in a harmful
way
PHARMACISTS
are
Drug Information Experts
No one knows more about
medications than
pharmacists
Pharmacy Career Options
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Academic Pharmacy
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Community Pharmacy 
Government Agencies
Hospice & Home Care 
Hospital & Institutional
Practice
Independent Ownership
Long-term Care
Consulting Pharmacy
Managed Care Pharmacy
Medical & Scientific
Publishing
Pharmaceutical Industry
Trade & Professional
Associations
Uniformed (Public Health)
Service
Shortage of Pharmacists
• Nationwide shortage of
pharmacists throughout U.S.
various industries*
• Shortage expected to last into
the foreseeable future
• Why?
– Increase in number of new
prescription medicines
– Growing elderly population
– Greater demand for patient care
– Growth in community pharmacy
* According to the results of the National Pharmacist Workforce Survey
(2006) and the HRSA BHPR National Center for Health Workforce Analysis
(2000).
Job Outlook
• Nationwide Shortage = Increased Demand
– * ECONOMIC IMPACT *
• Student pharmacists can expect job offers at graduation
• Salaried pharmacists in 2010 = $101,000 - $140,000
*According to DrugTopics.com
• Hourly pharmacists in 2010 = $107,000 - $127,000
*According to DrugTopics.com
• Regional mobility - Demand for pharmacists is
widespread in U.S.
• Opportunities to work in wide variety of health care and
industry settings
Should YOU Be a Pharmacist?
DO YOU LIKE...
• Chemistry, Biology, and Math?
• To Help People?
• To Solve Problems and Puzzles?
ARE YOU...
• Dependable? Organized?
• Detail-Oriented?
• Able to Communicate Well with Others?
If you answered YES, you may want to consider pharmacy as a career!
Pharmacy Education
and
Admission Requirements
The PharmD Degree
KNOW
DO
BE
Knowledge + + + + + + + + Skills + + + + + + + Attitudes/Behavior
2 years (min.)
Dependent/directed learner
3 years
1 year
Independent/self-directed
lifelong learner
ENTER PRACTICE
IPPEs and simulations
Pharmacy Practice
Experiences APPEs
(patient settings)
Pre-Professional
Behavioral, Social, Admin
& Clinical Sciences/
Apply & build on
knowledge
Biomedical &
Pharmaceutical
Sciences/Didactic
Accredited PharmD Programs*
Programs with Accreditation Status (n = 124)
• Full Accreditation Status: 99
– Programs that have graduated students
• Candidate Accreditation Status: 16
– Programs with students enrolled but have not yet produced graduates or
have graduates and have not addressed all the accreditation standards
• Pre-Candidate Accreditation Status: 9
– Programs that have not yet enrolled students or are in their first year of
classes
* Inclusive of January 2011 Board Actions
Pharmacy School Graduation Trends
11,487
Number of Graduates
12000
10000
8000
6,956
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Source: AACP Fall 2010 Data and ACPE February 2011 Estimates
Pharmacy school graduates 2011–2014
projected based on current enrollment
and ACPE-estimated attrition
13,822
14000
Common College Course
Prerequisites
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General Chemistry I & II
Organic Chemistry I & II
General Biology I & II
Physics
Microbiology
Calculus
Anatomy and Physiology
English I & II
Public Speaking
* These college courses are not required by all pharmacy
degree programs and do not represent all of the course
requirements for any pharmacy school. Admission
prerequisites vary significantly by pharmacy institution.
Pharmacy School
Admission Requirements
The classes required for admission to a
pharmacy program vary
Contact AACP or schools for details
Three-fourths of all pharmacy admission offices
require the
Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT)
www.pcatweb.info
Profile of 2010 Entering Class*
• GPAs
 Science 3.29
 Non-Science 3.59
 Math 3.37
 Cumulative 3.41
• 55.25 percentile = Composite PCAT
• 59.5% = Female / 38.25% = Male / 2.25% declined
to state
• 14.8% = Underrepresented Minorities (↑6.6%)
• 89.4% = U.S. Citizens
• 8.1 applications per seat
* Data for 86 PharmCAS Institutions Only. Data
represents average for accepted PharmCAS applicants.
• 100+ Participating PharmCAS Schools
• Allows an applicants to use one
application and one set of materials to
apply to multiple Pharm.D. degree
programs.
www.pharmcas.org
Re-Applicants
• Submitted and paid to roll-over from 20092010
• Carry over: Applicant Information, Academic
History, Additional Information, Transcripts,
PCAT scores
• Will NOT carry over: Personal Essay,
Payment, Letters of Recommendation,
Designations
• Will be assigned new 2010-2011 ID
PharmCAS Application Fee
Send to PharmCAS
• $150 to apply to one (1) school
• $50 fee for each additional
• Payment options
– Credit Card Preferred:
Visa / MasterCard / Discover
– Money Order
• No refunds for withdrawn applications or
missed deadlines
PharmCAS
Application Deadlines
November 1, 2011
December 1, 2011
January 5, 2012
February 1, 2012
March 1, 2012
Date
Applications
Must Be
Received
• You cannot e-submit application after the deadline passes
• Allow up to 4-5 weeks for PharmCAS processing
Early Decision
• Early Decision Deadline: September 2
• Applicant may apply to only one (1) ED
school
• Denied ED applicant may apply to more
schools
• Accepted ED applicant cannot apply to
other PharmCAS schools
• October 21 – School decisions due to
PharmCAS
LOR Process
• Up to 4 references allowed
• If evaluators choose paper (not
recommended) then student must
print form from application to give to
evaluator
– This is the process for letter services
• eLOR preferred
eLOR Process
• Students should alert evaluators to watch for
an automated email from PharmCAS with the
subject “Student Reference PharmCAS:
Student Name”
• Email will contain login instructions for
evaluator
• Evaluator asked to fill out a rubric on the
student and can upload documents to system
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.txt
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eLOR Process
• Student receives copy of message sent
to evaluator
• Student sees when evaluation received
in applicant portal
• Student can edit evaluators until
reference submission then no changes
• Committee letters count as 1
• Schools enforce deadlines
What to Include
• What are the applicant's primary
strengths and weaknesses?
• How might these affect the
applicant's performance in a
Pharm.D. degree program and future
career in pharmacy?
• Any pieces of the rubric you feel
need elaborating
Applicant Code of Conduct
• Code provides an explicit statement of
applicant responsibilities and expected
standards of performance and behavior
• Drawn from the ethical principles of the
Code of Ethics for Pharmacists
• Misconduct in any of the principles
defined in the code will not be tolerated
• Any applicant found to have violated the
principles of conduct risks losing the
privilege of applying to or entering the
pharmacy profession
Centralized Criminal Background
Check Program
• Check initiated after offer of admission by
participating school
• Cost most likely included in PharmCAS fee
• CBC searches:
– Search by Social Security number
– Determination of areas of prior residence
– Search, based on areas of prior residence, at the local
(county) level, as well as searches at the state, national,
and federal levels
– Sex offender search
– Search for dishonorable discharge from the Armed
Forces
– Search of the OIG Exclusions List
– SanctionsBase, a database of disciplinary actions taken
by regulatory and accrediting healthcare agencies,
including Boards of Pharmacy
Drug Screenings &
Plagiarism
• Centralized Drug Screenings for
students offered admission
– Random 10 panel drug screening
• Plagiarism software included in
PharmCAS for personal essays
PharmCAS
Customer Support
9:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m.
Mon-Fri
617-612-2050
[email protected]
www.pharmcas.org
FAQ
Online Status
Don’t Delay…
Find Out More Today!
www.aacp.org/pharmacycareers
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
1727 King Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
703/739-2330, x1024
[email protected]