A pharmacy serves as a place where people can get prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs, and even health-related advice. Its main purpose is to help people manage their health by providing the right medications prescribed by doctors or healthcare professionals.
Pharmacies also offer valuable information about how to take medications properly, potential side effects, and how different medications interact with each other.
While every pharmacy is different, they do have some things in common:
- Patient focus is key – the wellbeing of customers and patients is the most important part of pharmacies.
- Lots of collaboration – you’ll be working with lots of other healthcare professionals to provide holistic care.
- Community engagement – pharmacies serve as community hubs, where patients can seek advice, attend health events, and receive personalised care.
Provide essential medications and advice
Pharmacies play a crucial role by providing essential medications and health products, helping people manage their health conditions, and offering expert advice on medications and wellness.
Key tasks
- Dispense prescribed medications accurately
- Offer guidance on proper medication use
- Manage inventory of medications and supplies
- Assist customers with health-related inquiries
- Collaborate with healthcare professionals for patient care
- Ensure patient privacy and confidentiality
- Provide vaccinations and immunisations
- Organise and maintain records
You can find pharmacies in the retail trade and healthcare industries
Pharmacies are usually found in the retail trade and healthcare industries. Different types of pharmacies can include community drugstores, hospital pharmacies, and even online pharmacies.
You can expect regular hours and on-site work
Regular hours | Work on-site | Jobs in rural and metro areas | Strong job growth
Pharmacies are usually open from 9 to 5. Some may be open after hours for emergencies.
On-site work is more common in pharmacies, where workers need to interact directly with patients and medications. But some administration and marketing tasks may be done remotely.
Pharmacies are needed everywhere due to the essential services they provide, so you can find them from big cities to rural towns.
The Career Clusters you’ll find in a pharmacy
People from all Clusters are needed for a pharmacy to run successfully, but Linkers are typically the most common Cluster. In many roles, you might find yourself performing tasks across multiple Clusters.
