How to Become a Pharmacist: Australian Careers in Pharmacy

Pharmacists are central to Australia’s health system. They ensure patients get the right medicines, in the right dose, at the right time. Their work spans local pharmacies, hospitals, research labs, and industrial settings.

• Receiving prescriptions – Checking patients’ medicine histories and confirming correct doses and drug safety before dispensing.
• Preparing medications – Supervising the preparation and labelling of liquid medicines, ointments, powders, and tablets.
• Advising on drug reactions – Providing guidance to prescribers on drug clashes and contraindications.
• Monitoring therapy – Reviewing patients’ medicine therapy to check overall effectiveness.
• Maintaining records – Keeping prescription files and recording the issue of narcotics, poisons, and habit-forming drugs.
• Storing medications – Ensuring correct storage of vaccines, serums, and other medicines that can deteriorate.
• Supplying non-prescription medicines – Providing over-the-counter medicines and therapeutic aids to customers.
• Supervising staff – Coordinating the work of pharmacy technicians, interns, and sales assistants.
• Conducting research – Engaging in research to develop and improve pharmaceuticals and related chemical products.
• Testing drugs – Analysing drugs to confirm their identity, purity, and strength against set standards.
• Developing standards – Setting standards for drugs used in pharmaceutical manufacturing.