A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in order to dispense them safely to the public and to provide consultancy services.

[1][2] A pharmacist also often serves as a primary care provider in the community and offers services, such as health screenings and immunizations.

Pharmacists may also practice in a variety of other settings, including industry, wholesaling, research, academia, formulary management, military, and government.

Historically, the fundamental role of pharmacists as a healthcare practitioner was to check and distribute drugs to doctors for medication that had been prescribed to patients.

Pharmacists may practice compounding; however, many medicines are now produced by pharmaceutical companies in a standard dosage and drug delivery form.

[6] Pharmaceutical care involves taking direct responsibility for patients and their disease states, medications, and management of each to improve outcomes.

In most countries, pharmacists must obtain a university degree at a pharmacy school or related institution, and/or satisfy other national/local credentialing requirements.

Additional curriculum may cover diagnosis with emphasis on laboratory tests, disease state management, therapeutics and prescribing (selecting the most appropriate medication for a given patient).

The Pharmacy Board of Australia conducts an oral examination at the end of the intern year as the last hurdle prior to registration.

[29][30] As a result of pharmacists' expanding scope and knowledge application, there has been a purposeful effort to transition the professional programs in Canadian pharmacy schools to offer doctors of pharmacy over baccalaureate curriculums to ensure graduates have the most up to date level of training to match the increasing practice requirements.

[31][32] The pharmacist qualification in the European Union is regulated by the Directive 2005/36/EC,[33] where Section 7 Article 44(2) mandates at least five years of training including "four years of full-time theoretical and practical training" and "six-month traineeship in a pharmacy which is open to the public or in a hospital, under the supervision of that hospital's pharmaceutical department".

All pharmacists in Poland have to maintain an adequate knowledge level by participating in various university- and industry-based courses and arrangements or by undergoing postgraduate specialization.

[citation needed] Pharmacy technicians do not have dispensing rights in Sweden but are allowed to advise on and sell over-the-counter medicines.

Ranked positions in the pre-Heian Imperial court were established; and this organizational structure remained largely intact until the Meiji Restoration (1868).

There are thousands of Nigerian-trained pharmacists registered and practicing in countries such as the US, the UK, Canada etc., due to the relatively poor public sector salaries in Nigeria.

Students spend their last year as interns in a pharmacy combined with courses at the university, with focus on the validation of prescriptions and the manufacturing of pharmaceutical formulations.

Since all public health professions are regulated by the government it is also necessary to acquire a federal diploma in order to work in a pharmacy.

The Ministry of Health salary scale for medical doctors was considerably higher than that of pharmacists despite having a difference of only one year of training.

Graduates undertake a 6-month internship, known as pre-registration, under the supervision of a registered pharmacist, at a pharmacy of their choosing, whether community or institutional.

[42] The following criteria must be met for qualification as a pharmacist in the United Kingdom (the Northern Irish body and the GPhC operate separately but have broadly similar registration requirements):[43] In 2014 the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that there were 297,100 American pharmacist jobs.

About 22% work in hospitals, and the rest mainly in mail-order or Internet pharmacies, pharmaceutical wholesalers, practices of physicians, and the Federal Government.

degree before they are eligible to sit for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) to enter into pharmacy practice.

Acceptance into a doctorate of pharmacy program depends upon completing specific prerequisites or obtaining a transferable bachelor's degree.

Most schools require students to take a Pharmacy College Admissions Test PCAT and complete 90 credit hours of university coursework in the sciences, mathematics, composition, and humanities before entry into the PharmD program.

Possible prerequisites: Besides taking classes, additional requirements before graduating may include a certain number of hours for community service, e.g., working in hospitals, clinics, and retail.

A residency gives licensed pharmacists decades of clinical experience in an extremely condensed timeframe of only a few short years.

In order for new graduates to remain competitive, employers generally favor residency trained applicants for clinical positions.

American pharmacists can become certified in recognized specialty practice areas by passing an examination administered by one of several credentialing boards.

[62] In order to be eligible to dispense, a pharmacists must first "complete a training program approved by the" California State Board of Pharmacy.

[citation needed] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government.