7 ms·

> pharmacist Only 3 years for a pharmacist? I think Germany is the exception here, not the US.

by TomVDB 6y ago

kwhitefoot 6y ago
I think there might be a distinction between those who can hand out the medicine already prescribed (pharmacy technician) and those who can prescribe as well (Bachelors and Masters of Pharmacy). At least that is how it is in Norway
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- ruph123 6y ago
  Oh yes that is correct. Sorry then I compared apples and oranges here. “Pharmacists” in Germany only hand out the medics and produce some. Doctors are the only ones who can prescribe.
  - syspec 6y ago
    Same in US, except pharmacist in the US must go to school for at least 6 years.
    - ulfw 6y ago
      And then they end up at some fluorescent-lid counter at a Walgreens filling pill boxes. Kind of sad when you think about it.
      - caspper69 6y ago
        They are very well compensated for what they do. The work is less strenuous and mentally taxing than being a line cook. They are usually the highest paid employees in a store, unless it's a Walmart where the general store manager can make just over six figures. It's not a terrible gig, with only a 2-year program after your bachelor's.
      - unishark 6y ago
        But then doctors often end up looking at people's rashes all day and handing out hydrocortisone and tylenol. There's a lot more advanced stuff pharmacists are qualified to do. Pills don't require much work, but liquids and powders may need to be mixed. Also they often can prescribe certain things like morning after pills for birth control. Also pharmacists work in other places besides retail like hospitals.
    - raxxorrax 6y ago
      I think this is outdated to a degree. Pharmacists like that would be needed in the pharma industry. The times when they mixed ingredients themselves on demand are probably gone.
      - sjy 6y ago
        I think it’s still pretty common; there are plenty of compounding pharmacies in my city. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compounding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compounding
        OldHand2018 6y ago
        A niece of mine is a pharmacy technician at a Walmart in Indiana. She compounds drugs all day long. It's still extremely common. She had to take a bunch of classes at the local branch of the state university system and then pass a certification.
  - TomVDB 6y ago
    That’s true in most countries, but pharmacists are trained to understand the side defects of medication better, able to detect mistakes made by doctors (dosage etc) and provide alternatives.
- usrusr 6y ago
  In Germany only doctors can prescribe, but there's a big class of pharmaceutical products that can be sold without a prescription, but only by at pharmacies (e.g. not at a supermarket or convenience store). The vocationally trained pharmacy worker ("technician") can do that selling as well I think, but a university trained ("pharmacist") is required in a supervisorial role (e.g. the "technician" level cannot run their own pharmacy, not even a chain branch). Much of the university requirement is a bit of an anachronism because a lot of the underlying reasoning is nominally based on the scenario of pharmacists manufacturing their own drugs in the backroom, but fortunately there seems to be a lot of political agreement that opening up requirements for theoretical efficiency gains would only enrich aggressive investors without making health noticeably cheaper.
fabian2k 6y ago
I think what is meant here are "Pharmazeutisch-technische Assistenten" (PTA), which are not pharmacists but more like the pharmacists' assistents. There also is a full pharmacy course at German universities, and some regulated exams you need to pass to become a pharmacist. As far as I understand to actually run a pharmacy you need to be a pharmacist with a full degree.
- kube-system 6y ago
  3 years to be a pharmacy tech sounds like a lot. Those programs are usually less than a year long in the US.

> pharmacist Only 3 years for a pharmacist? I think Germany is the exception here, not the US.

by TomVDB 6y ago

> pharmacist Only 3 years for a pharmacist? I think Germany is the exception here, not the US.

I think there might be a distinction between those who can hand out the medicine already prescribed (pharmacy technician) and those who can prescribe as well (Bachelors and Masters of Pharmacy). At least that is how it is in Norway

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ruph123 6y ago
Oh yes that is correct. Sorry then I compared apples and oranges here. “Pharmacists” in Germany only hand out the medics and produce some. Doctors are the only ones who can prescribe.
- syspec 6y ago
  Same in US, except pharmacist in the US must go to school for at least 6 years.
  - ulfw 6y ago
    And then they end up at some fluorescent-lid counter at a Walgreens filling pill boxes. Kind of sad when you think about it.
    - caspper69 6y ago
      They are very well compensated for what they do. The work is less strenuous and mentally taxing than being a line cook. They are usually the highest paid employees in a store, unless it's a Walmart where the general store manager can make just over six figures. It's not a terrible gig, with only a 2-year program after your bachelor's.
    - unishark 6y ago
      But then doctors often end up looking at people's rashes all day and handing out hydrocortisone and tylenol. There's a lot more advanced stuff pharmacists are qualified to do. Pills don't require much work, but liquids and powders may need to be mixed. Also they often can prescribe certain things like morning after pills for birth control. Also pharmacists work in other places besides retail like hospitals.
  - raxxorrax 6y ago
    I think this is outdated to a degree. Pharmacists like that would be needed in the pharma industry. The times when they mixed ingredients themselves on demand are probably gone.
    - sjy 6y ago
      I think it’s still pretty common; there are plenty of compounding pharmacies in my city. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compounding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compounding
      - OldHand2018 6y ago
        A niece of mine is a pharmacy technician at a Walmart in Indiana. She compounds drugs all day long. It's still extremely common. She had to take a bunch of classes at the local branch of the state university system and then pass a certification.
- TomVDB 6y ago
  That’s true in most countries, but pharmacists are trained to understand the side defects of medication better, able to detect mistakes made by doctors (dosage etc) and provide alternatives.
usrusr 6y ago
In Germany only doctors can prescribe, but there's a big class of pharmaceutical products that can be sold without a prescription, but only by at pharmacies (e.g. not at a supermarket or convenience store). The vocationally trained pharmacy worker ("technician") can do that selling as well I think, but a university trained ("pharmacist") is required in a supervisorial role (e.g. the "technician" level cannot run their own pharmacy, not even a chain branch). Much of the university requirement is a bit of an anachronism because a lot of the underlying reasoning is nominally based on the scenario of pharmacists manufacturing their own drugs in the backroom, but fortunately there seems to be a lot of political agreement that opening up requirements for theoretical efficiency gains would only enrich aggressive investors without making health noticeably cheaper.

fabian2k 6y ago

I think what is meant here are "Pharmazeutisch-technische Assistenten" (PTA), which are not pharmacists but more like the pharmacists' assistents. There also is a full pharmacy course at German universities, and some regulated exams you need to pass to become a pharmacist. As far as I understand to actually run a pharmacy you need to be a pharmacist with a full degree.

kube-system 6y ago
3 years to be a pharmacy tech sounds like a lot. Those programs are usually less than a year long in the US.