Working in a pharmacy can be both challenging and
rewarding. Sometimes it is stressful and
it always requires precisions because peoples’ lives are in your hands. More
specifically, here are 5 must have skills for anyone that wants to work in the
pharmacy industry:
#1 Great People Skills
First and foremost, you have to be able to work with people –
both your co-workers and the clients that come in to pick up medications or ask
questions. You should be able to
communicate well with words as well as in writing. Every day you will come into contact with
people and you will need to answer questions, relay information, and give
instructions. Your customers rely on you
to be able to tell them how to take medications and make them aware of possible
side effects. Your co-workers need you
to be part of the team and a big part of that is good communications.
#2 Detail Oriented
One of the main things that people who work in pharmacy do
is dispensing medication. You need to be
fast but you especially need to be accurate.
It can be a matter of life or death if you do not give them the right
dose or the right medication. You need
to pay attention to other medications that the customer may be on because some
medicines can have lethal interactions.
You must always be alert and have an eye for detail when you are putting
info into the database or getting medication ready to dispense.
#3 Using Machines
Each pharmacy is a bit different but most pharmacies use
pill counting machines. You must know
how to use these because they can be the most efficient way of counting pills
for dispensing. You will likely get
training in the main machines when you are in school but there is always new
technology being released so you must be able to learn new technology in pill
counting machines as it comes out.
#4 Science and Math
Much of the work that you do will be done with a computer
but there will be times when it is much faster to do calculations in your head.
Ratios, percentages, and units of measurement are concepts that you should
understand and that a computer is not going to help you with. In order to understand how different
medications can affect people, you should also be familiar with anatomy,
chemistry and physiology.
#5 Computer Skills
You simply can’t avoid computers in most jobs today and that
includes when you are working in a pharmacy.
Computers make it much easier to receive prescriptions from doctors,
store date about customers and medications, and have easy access to insurance
info. You’ll likely also use computers
to track inventory.
