Pharmacy
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Professional Overview
Pharmacists provide pharmaceutical care to their patients. The goal is to achieve positive outcomes from medication, which improves patients’ quality of life with minimum risk. In providing pharmaceutical care, pharmacists strive to 1) cure disease; 2) eliminate or reduce symptoms; 3) arrest or slow a disease process; 4) prevention of disease; 5) diagnose disease; and 6) alter the physiological process for desirable results in patient’s health.
Pharmacists undertake a four-year doctoral education to achieve a Doctor of Pharmacy.
Pharmacists can be found in various settings, including community practice—chain, independent, compounding, veterinary pharmacies; drug development; hospital pharmacies, education, consultant (long-term care and home health), and other settings, such as government, managed care, and mail services.
General Pre-Pharmacy Prerequisite Coursework; Wright State Specific Courses
Most pharmacy schools require the following prerequisites:
- Anatomy and Physiology (with lab): 8 semester hours (ANT 3100, ANT 3120)
- Calculus: 4 semester hours (MTH 2240 or MTH 2300)
- General Biology (with lab): 8 semester hours (BIO 1120, BIO 1150)
- General Chemistry (with lab): 8 semester hours (CHM 1210, CHM 1220)
- English: 6 semester hours (ENG 1100, ENG 2100, or 2130)
- Medical Terminology: 2-3 semester hours (BIO 1010)
- Microbiology: 3-4 semester hours (BIO 2200 or BIO 3100 with lab)
- Organic Chemistry (with lab): 8 semester hours (CHM 2110, CHM 2120)
- Physics (with lab): 8 semester hours (PHY 1110, PHY 1120)
- Statistics: 4 semester hours (STT 1600 or STT 2640)
Some schools may require:
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: 3 semester hours (BMB 4210 or BMB 4001)
- Economics: 3 semester hours (EC 2000)
- Public Speaking: 3 semester hours (COM 1010)
- General Psychology: 4 semester hours (PSY 1010)
Note. Individual requirements vary by school. It is important to research individual health professions programs for specific requirements. Contact the Pre-Health Advisor for assistance.
Academic Major
Any major is acceptable if you complete the required prerequisite coursework, recommended extracurricular activities, and present a strong application to pharmacy school. Pharmacy school seeks students who have demonstrated they can do well, particularly in the prerequisite courses, and followed their academic interests.
Pre-pharmacy students often major in one of the following since many of the prerequisite courses are part of the major’s academic requirements:
- Biological Science
- Biochemistry
- Chemistry
- Neuroscience
- Physics
- Psychology
- Public Health
Presenting a Competitive Application
Students should check directly with the schools they plan to apply to for application requirements, information, and timelines. Admissions to health profession schools tend to be very competitive. While there is “no magical formula” for gaining admissions, general expectations include:
- Strong academic performance (3.4 or higher) in both your cumulative and prerequisite courses.
- Scoring highly (400 or higher) on the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT).
- Pharmacy schools require extensive familiarity with pharmaceuticals to gain an appreciation for and understanding of the profession. Students should:
- Shadow several pharmacists to gain a realistic perspective of the profession.
- Gain direct patient and/or clinical exposure/experience in several unique and diverse settings and various types of patients.
- Get involved in community service, volunteer experiences, and co- and extracurricular activities on campus.
- Seek leadership responsibility, such as employment, church, community, and school organizations, including coaching, tutoring, and mentoring.
- Conduct research to help you understand scientific literature, how research is conducted, and distinguish credible research.
- Demonstrate the ability to balance school and responsibilities outside the classroom, demonstrating your ability to handle the difficult demands of pharmacy school
- Exhibit strong interpersonal skills, the ability to work in teams and among a diverse group of people, and a desire to help others; communicate and listen effectively and possess skills to express your thoughts and ideas.
