Pharmacist vs Pharmacology vs Engineer

collegealum314
Sun, 29 May 2011 22:44:37 +0000

The simplest explanation for the difference between a pharmacist and a pharmacologist is that a pharmacist dispenses drugs (and checks dosing and proper usage), while a pharmacologist designs them. Like the previous poster said, pharmacology is typically lab work (though if you wanted to, you could get a job at a pharmaceutical company). It can be a typical biology PhD, or it can be actually involve the testing, design, or investigation of the mchanism of action of a drug. However, you aren’t limited to lab work for the rest of your life. Like with a pharmD, you are qualified to teach at a pharmacy school (and these positions aren’t that tough to get.) Also, either training makes it easy to to do toxicology work or anything involving drugs and alcohol. The previous poster is right. The demand for and salary of pharmacists is no longer a sure thing as pharmacy is becoming more automatized. However, there are still other opportunities out there. Hospitals need pharmacists, particularly in the cancer ward, and the need will always be there for that.

(I have a pharmacist in my family.)