Retail Pharmacist

Overview

Dispenses prescribed pharmaceuticals to the public, educates customers on health promotion, disease prevention and the proper use of medicines, and sells non-prescription medicines and related goods in a community pharmacy. Registration or licensing is required.

Skills

Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification and a one year traineeship (ANZSCO Skill Level 1). Registration or licensing is required.

Tasks

• receiving prescriptions, checking patients' medicine histories, and ensuring optimal dosage and methods of administration and drug compatibility before dispensing
• preparing or supervising the preparation and labelling of liquid medicines, ointments, powders, tablets and other medications to fill prescriptions
• advising prescribers on drug incompatibility and contra-indications
• reviewing and monitoring the medicine therapy of individual patients, and assessing the effectiveness of the total medicine therapy
• maintaining prescription files and recording issue of narcotics, poisons and habit-forming drugs
• storing and preserving vaccines, serums and other drugs subject to deterioration
• supplying non-prescription medicines, and diagnostic and therapeutic aids
• supervising and coordinating the work of Pharmacy Technicians, pharmacy interns and Pharmacy Sales Assistants
• conducting research to develop and improve pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and related chemical products
• conferring with Chemists, Engineering Professionals and other professionals about manufacturing techniques and ingredients
• testing and analysing drugs to determine their identity, purity and strength in relation to specified standards
• developing standards for drugs used in pharmaceuticals.

Alternative Titles

• Community Pharmacist

Related Occupations

• Hospital Pharmacist
• Industrial Pharmacist