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Kyleigh A. Fuimaono

Ms. Tibbitts

Language Arts 12

November 29, 2017

Whilst researching topics regarding the medical field, I chose the topic of Pharmacists. I

came upon articles that provided graphs and information about the career of pharmacists. These

articles mainly discussed the responsibilities, qualifications, required education, and daily tasks

that are performed. However, these articles did not include the progress of early Pharmacology

and the role of modern technology. My goal in this paper is to explain how pharmacists use

modern technology to contribute to their patients and the convenience it caters.

I have organized my paper into four main sections. In the first section, I briefly described

what a pharmacist is and the task and responsibilities that they are assigned. The second section

goes into a more descriptive explanation of the different types of pharmacists there are and the

qualifications and education required. In the third section, I explained the history of

pharmacology and it’s progress with technology. In the fourth section of this career research, I

provided how modern technology plays a role in pharmacology.

A pharmacist is a person who is professionally licensed and qualified to prepare and

dispense medicinal drugs, they are also known as chemist or druggists. Pharmacists strive to get

rid of or decrease symptoms, slow a disease process, prevent disease, and diagnose diseases. The

environment that they work in are normally hospitals, pharmacies, and grocery stores. The

education requirement for a pharmacist is a doctoral or professional degree and 8 years of formal

schooling.
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Similar to the different types of doctors in the medical field, there are also

distinguishable classes of pharmacists. Each of these pharmacists perform many tasks and have

certain responsibilities. The top three types of pharmacists that I found interesting were a

Compound, Consultant, and an Oncology Pharmacists. A Clinical Oncology Pharmacist’s take

role in cancer treatment. Cancer treatment has evolved for the past 50 years. A Compound

Pharmacist’s traditional role is to create drugs prescribed by doctors that patients cannot obtain

over the counter. An example of the tasks that these types of pharmacist perform are creating a

medicine for children in a liquid dosage that is found in adult medicines. Another example is a

patient being allergic to a generic brand of medicine, therefore a compounding pharmacy has to

make a specific medicine that meets the patient’s needs. Lastly, a Consultant Pharmacists deals

with elderly people. Consultant Pharmacists review and manage the medication of patients,

normally those who are in nursing homes.

Pharmacology has definitely made it’s progress from history until now. The date of the

beginning of pharmacology is unclear. Pharmacology depends mainly on experiments, which

would take place in laboratories. Humans were used in experiments and for testing in the 1940’s.

One organization that deals with pharmacology is ASPET. The ASPET organization is one of the

earlier pharmacology organization’s that dates back to the early 1900’s. This organization has 18

founders. ASPET is short for The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental

Therapeutics.

Modern technology has influenced the progression of pharmacology throughout the

years. Electronic technology in pharmacology is influenced and continues to be influenced by

healthcare professionals. Pharmacy practice is also impacted by computerization. These

improvements help pharmacists reduce medication errors because they are programmed to do
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specific tasks that pharmacists may need assistance with. Modern technology in pharmacies

make tasks easier. Pharmacists use modern technology to create convenience amongst consumers

and lighten situations by only a few taps. Patients can use their smartphones to order their

medications.

In conclusion, modern technology in pharmacies contribute to the convenience of patients

as well as the Pharmacists. The modern technology makes the tasks of pharmacists easier by

sending the information received by the patients into the computer data bases. For pharmacists,

their job is to review the order that has been requested and to provide it for the patients. This

impacts everyone and is important because modern technology will only continue to progress

within pharmacology.

Works Cited

Nguyen , Mai. “22 Types Of Pharmacy Jobs and Careers.” RxEconsult,

www.rxeconsult.com/healthcare-articles/Pharmacy-Careers--Pharmacist-Practice-Settings-227/6.

Lamb, Edward. “Here Is a Rundown of the Top Responsibilities of a Pharmacist.”

The Balance, 23 Oct. 2017, www.thebalance.com/top-9-pharmacist-responsibilities-2663854.

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DeNoon, Daniel J. “What Are Compounding Pharmacies?” WebMD, WebMD, 10

Oct. 2012, www.webmd.com/brain/news/20121010/what-are-compounding-pharmacies#1.

Skulman, Donna. “What Is a Consultant Pharmacist ?” Pharmacyconsults.com,

2010, www.pharmacyconsults.com/.

Scheindlin, Stanley. “A Brief History of Pharmacology.” The Time Line,

pubs.acs.org/subscribe/archive/mdd/v04/i05/html/05timeline.html.

Decker, Fred. “Training, Education & Qualifications of a Pharmacist.”

Chron.com, 2017, work.chron.com/training-education-qualifications-pharmacist-12081.html.