Role of the Pharmacist
Pharmacy is a dynamic profession and Pharmacists are integral to the healthcare team as medication specialists committed to enhance patient care and promote wellness so that people can live healthier and better lives.
Pharmacists are central to inventing the breakthrough science behind medicines that can change the world. The profession is continually expanding in new directions to help people get the best results from medication that improves their health and well-being. The paradigm has shifted from traditional compounding and dispensing of medicines towards a more patient-orientated, research-led professional advisory and primary health care role. Pharmacists screen people for early signs of disease and prevent illness before it begins by using advanced methods to provide sound pharmaceutical care to patients.
Through innovative pharmaceutical research as well as the application of the knowledge and skills learnt, Pharmacists are also specialists in the formulation, manufacture, storage, dispensing, counselling and controlling of medicines in a wide range of healthcare settings. They are poised to provide advice on medications used to treat illnesses as well as to educate, promote and maintain the health of people and ensure optimal drug therapy.
Apply to study pharmacy at Wits University and you’ll be learning alongside some of the brightest pharmaceutical minds in the world, exposed to the best cutting edge pharmaceutical research ever undertaken. Pharmacy is a diverse and rewarding career, with opportunities for patient care, scientific research and innovation. The Pharmacy degree provides training in a wide range of interrelated disciplines and therefore offers a variety of career opportunities to graduates that include:
- Community Pharmacy
- Hospital Pharmacy
- Industrial Pharmacy
- Managed Healthcare
- Academia and Research
Other Areas in which Pharmacists are involved:
- Professional Regulatory Bodies
- Medicines Control Council (MCC)
- Publishing of Pharmaceutical Research
- Intellectual Property of Pharmaceuticals
- Drug Abuse Counselling
- Drug Information Centers
- Pharmacoeconomics
- Pharmacovigilance
- Drug Stewardship
- Drug Utilization Reviews
- Clinical Trials
- Poison Information Centers
- Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring
- Contract Research
Our curriculum is continually updated to meet the changes in the pharmacy profession.