AboutMary E Scott, RPh, CGP Expertise I am a certified geriatric pharmacist with over 23 years experience as a long-term care consultant to nursing homes. I also do community-based consulting on an individual basis. My facility-based monthly newsletter on pharmacy topics is read by nurses in over 200 long-term care facilities in 5 states.
Experience I received a BS in Pharmacy in 1980 with post-graduate work in public health. I have had a Consultant Pharmacist license since 1984.
Organizations American Society of Consultant Pharmacists .I received certification in geriatric pharmacy in 1998.
Question Hi my name is Brittney. I am entering my senior year in high school this year. After high school, I plan on attending college for pharmacy. This summer I am taking a class called Career Exploration at Suny Brockport and one of our assignments is to contact people who work or know about the career field that we are interested in. I have a couple questions that you may be able to answer for me. I am wondering what classes are needed to be taken in college? What major information that I may need to know? About how much are the college expenses? Are there any other recommendations that you may have for me. I hope to hear from you soon so that I can continue exploring the pharmacy field. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Brittney
Answer Hi,Brittany!
Some basic prepharmacy classes you would need to take:
advanced math (past algebra). I had to take calculus
Biology
Chemistry (organic and inorganic)
Microbiology, maybe immunology
anatomy and physiology
maybe physics (I had to,but some colleges may not require)
In order to become a pharmacist, you need to graduate from pharmacy school with a Pharm D (Doctor of Pharmacy) degree which is a six year program. When I graduated in 1980,it was a five year program once I was accepted out of high school, but if you work through the summers, you can save a lot of time and money. Nowadays with increased competition for spots, most schools require you to complete the prepharmacy requirements and then apply for a spot after 2 yrs so you really need top grades the first 2 yrs.
I don't really know what tuition is now.
Hope this helps, and feel free to email again with more questions
