Your Pharmacist does more than count pills.

A lot of people think that the only job pharmacists have is to count pills and refill prescriptions, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Pharmacists are medical professionals that can do much more than give medications out; they are also educators, scientists, and advocates with patients’ best interests at heart. If you’re thinking about becoming a pharmacist, or if you want a better idea of just how big and diverse the profession really is, here are three interesting things pharmacists do outside of counting pills and filling prescriptions.

Pharmacists are patient advocates
Pharmacists are healthcare professionals with a special knowledge of medicines, including what they’re used for, side effects, and interactions with other medicines. This can be really important when a patient is taking more than one medicine or has any chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, or HIV/AIDS. As the most accessible healthcare provider, pharmacists are often the go-between patients and the physician.

Pharmacists are educators
Pharmacists are not only experts in the safe use of medication, but they also have a deep knowledge of disease states, how medicines work and what makes them effective or ineffective. This makes pharmacists ideally suited to teach people about different diseases, medicines they take, why they take them, and what side effects they might experience. It doesn’t stop there! Pharmacists provide education and training to other professionals at healthcare conferences and continuing education events.

Pharmacists are drug experts
A pharmacist is an expert in all things related to drugs and medications. This includes prescriptions, over-the-counter, vitamins, minerals, herbals and even pet medications! Pharmacists are experts in reviewing clinical data to answer any questions you might have about the drug or side effects.
Pharmacists also help you manage your health by providing information on diet and nutrition, giving immunizations, and checking for common illnesses like diabetes or heart disease.