What Are The Pharmacist Education Requirements?

Pharmacy is very sought after profession. It is high paying with many perks that other professions don't offer. It is considered to be one of the best health care professions these days. Working as a health care professional can be messy at times, considering the blood or body fluids, and not everybody can handle that. So if you are a person who can't handle the messy part but still want to be in health care, pharmacy can be the right thing for you.

Pharmacist education requirements are not difficult at all. You can join a pharmacy school right after graduating from high school. If you have decided that early, meaning that you made the decision while still in high school, it will be wise to opt for math and science courses while you are still in high school. But even after that, during college or later, you can join a pharmacy school anytime.

The basic pharmacist education requirements to pursue a degree in this filed will be to clear the PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test) but all colleges listed by PharmaCAS do not require a test. The interview, application and letter of recommendation are all part of the process.

The prerequisites are an important part of the pharmacist education requirements. If you are joining a pharmacy school right after high school you can join a joint undergraduate and Pharm. D program. This way you will be completing your prerequisite courses in two years and the actual pharmacy education in the next three to four years.

But if you are a bachelor's degree student than the courses you are taking can make a lot of difference. Science and life science subjects will give you a greater advantage over arts subjects. You can always get the most accurate information from the websites of the particular schools you are interested in. By getting that information you can be sure about the pharmacist education requirements and the admission process will become easier for you.

The bachelor's degree for pharmacy has been phased out. You will very rarely hear about a registered pharmacist meaning a pharmacist who is only a BS. It has become essential to obtain a Pharm. D Degree before you become a licensed practicing pharmacist. Another important thing to note is that the doctor in Pharmacy is different than both PhD and MS in pharmacy.

Being in a pharmacy school is as demanding and as hard as being in a medical school. There is extensive study and practical work involved. But once you have completed your years at a pharmacy school the road ahead is comparatively easier. To begin with, you will not have to go through years and years of residency. At the most the residency will be one to two years and that also only if you want to.

You can get straight to practicing without the residency. It is important to get a license from the state before you start practicing. You don't necessarily have to work at a drug store. Pharmacy is exciting and diverse. You can work alongside doctors as part of a medical team or choose to work in the lab for further research. Once you obtain your degree it is up to you to decide what you want to do with it.

How to Turn Your Unhealthy Lifestyle to Healthy

Is an unhealthy lifestyle your responsibility or the health care system's? Well, as an advocate for healthy lifestyles, I believe that each individual must take responsibility for their choices, actions and their overall health. That being said, this simply means that health is a matter of choice. When you are not healthy because of your consumption of fatty foods, high-sugar drinks, smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages (in excess) or not exercising regularly, you are contributing to your unhealthy lifestyle. With the freedom of choice comes the responsibility to choose wisely.

When you choose to turn your unhealthy lifestyle to a healthy one, you reduce your chances of getting sick, you reduce your visits to the doctor and you get a much better chance of preventing future diseases. My equation for turning your unhealthy lifestyle to a healthy one is:

(+CHOICES) + (+ACTIONS) = (+HEALTH)

To be successful... it must start with YOU.

Then, we must turn our attention to education. Education is the key to changing the thought patterns of the younger North American population from unhealthy lifestyle choices to healthy lifestyle choices and actions. General health is on a downward spiral and in order to stop it from getting worse, we must educate our children today so that they can attain a level of expertise in the care of their own health.

These suggestions may seem simple but did you know that only 3% of Americans maintain a healthy lifestyle? The research is published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine and the 4 criteria that define a healthy lifestyle are:

Not smoking
Healthy weight
Eating healthy - minimum 5 vegetables and fruit per day
Exercising 30 minutes, 5 times per week

So step up, take responsibility for your choices and those of your children and take appropriate action. Leading a healthy lifestyle should be the necessary expectation of a much larger percentage of our society. There are huge benefits to turning your unhealthy lifestyle to a healthier one such as increased life expectancy, reduced disease risk, reduced medical costs and improved quality of life.

Dentists - Educational Background and Training

Dentists go through a lot of years in college before actually graduating and are able to practice. The amount of time that medical students spend on their education is understandable considering that they are dealing with the health and well being of an individual. Usually, if not always, students who graduate from high school should graduate from a college course with a bachelor's degree before they can apply for a dental school. Many aspiring medical or dental students complete their Bachelor's degree with a course that is somewhat connected to medicine or dentistry. This somehow gives them a background of what they can expect from the dental school. Usually, these degrees take at least four to six years to finish. The goal of dentists all over the world is to promote good oral health. To be able to do this, they need to go through several years of college, dental school and specialty courses if they want to. General practitioners do not need to specialize while specialist can also take on tasks that general practitioners usually do.

Dental College

Before applying for a reputable dental college, the aspiring student should have a Bachelor's degree. Future dentists will benefit more if their Bachelor's degree courses are connected to medicine since these give them a background of thongs to come. Sciences and other related courses are welcomed by most colleges that offer dentistry. There are two basic dental courses, (DDS) Doctor of Dental Surgery and (DMD) Doctor of Dental Medicine. In many cases of accredited colleges, those who take up Bachelor's degrees in sciences and related courses can have some of the subjects credited when they enter dentistry. This helps to lessen their load and the time that they will spend in some courses. Before that, prospective applicants must also present their DAT scores to the colleges of their choice. DAT is the Dental Admissions Test that is a requirement for those who wish to enter dentistry. High scores in this test along with good grades from the Bachelor's degree course related to science can lead to admission.

Courses in general dentistry usually take around four to six years to complete, depending on the performance of aspiring dentists. Included in the course are clinical skills, dental treatment and diagnosis as well as pathology. Externship comes in the fourth year and they are required to do rotation for this. During the fourth year the student can take the National Board Dental Exams to be able to practice this field of medicine. In some places, the exams take place before the fourth year.

Specialization

Specialization can be taken up after the fourth year of general dentistry or after they graduate and pass their Board Exams. Continuing education is an option that many dentists go for after dental school. There are not a lot of specializations in this field of medicine and they include, but are not limited to, pediatrics, orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry and surgery in the oral and maxillofacial areas.